‘Children’ and ‘television’ put those two words together and you’ll be debating for the rest of time. Between the ‘all for it’, ‘dead against it’ and ‘on the fence’ schools of thought, you’ll be hard pressed to change a parent’s made-up mind, no matter where on the fence they sit. However, with many kids having spent more time at home than school over the past year, so much has changed, including their amount of screen time. Plus, says Jaco Joubert brand manager for high-end television company SKYWORTH, while the common adage is that prolonged screen time is bad, new research has found that this may not be the case at all.
While there are negatives to kids watching television, there are certainly positives too. Of course, moderation is key, however with so many shows, many of them educational, catered specifically to children, you’ll find kids are learning a thing or two from the box.
Joubert highlights some of these positives:
Education – There is a lot of educational content out there, you just need to help your kids find it. From learning about the environment and animal kingdom, to language and maths, educational content is an undisputed positive when it comes to kids and TV time. Programmes such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Arthur, Peppa Pig, are just some shows with educational qualities. There’s a wide variety of educational apps available on SKYWORTH Android TVs that parents and children can partake in together, without having to use an additional device.
Sports – There is no replacement for the real thing, however, with many schools’ sports and extra murals on hold due to social distancing regulations, a great way to help your kids understand a particular sport is by watching it on TV. Plus, if you’re up to it, after the virtual game why not toss or hit a couple of balls in the garden?
Cultures – We’re living in an age where technology has never been more advanced; we can connect to people across time zones with the click of a button, and host conferences with people from across the globe, all from the comfort of our own home. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we’re more connected than ever before. While in the past learning about new cultures meant travelling, nowadays the best way to familiarise and learn about people, cultures, traditions, etc, is by watching TV.
Inspire – Kid’s shows can inspire children in all sorts of ways. The children’s shows on TV are meant to encourage little ones to try out new things. They’re meant to tap into their potential and unleash it by showing them how being creative can be fun. Shows that aim to inspire kids help boost their creative thinking abilities.
A concern many parents have when it comes to prolonged screen time is the effect of the harsh light emitted from the television screen. “SKYWORTH’s S9A OLED TV is easy on the eyes,” adds Joubert. “The blue light emitted from screens can, over time, cause eye problems such as retinal injury, myopia and cataracts. However, OLED doesn’t need backlight, thereby minimising the harm of blue-light hazard and making it the best choice for your family, especially the little ones. The eye protection mode of an ordinary LCD TV is at the expense of picture quality. The colour is too warm and yellow, but it can’t reduce all the harmful blue light effects.”
Provided by Skyworth South Africa
