Forum: Go beyond screen-use guidelines to improve children’s holistic health
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The new stricter screen-use guidelines are indeed a step in the right direction (No devices for kids at meals and turn off the TV: Singapore issues stricter screen-use guidelines, Jan 21). I thank the three ministries that have been working together to bring this about.
As a father of a child in primary school and also a parent-facilitator in parent communities, I would like to raise several concerns that are already being discussed in parent groups in the light of the updated guidelines.
One, consider more support for resource-strapped parents.
These parents may desire to pivot according to the guidelines but lack the resources – finance, time and parenting competencies – to do what changing their current routines would entail.
Two, consider promoting cultural optics through a lens of kindness.
With the increased awareness the guidelines provide, the reality is that different families will adjust at different speeds. Scenarios may occur where parents who are struggling (like the resource-strapped ones) may be judged or shamed as unfit parents.
It’s an added layer of unnecessary stress in an already high-stress parenting landscape.
Three, consider other reforms in tandem with the guidelines.
If the aim of reducing screen usage is to promote gains in other areas, for example, greater physical activity, consider that with so much on children’s plates nowadays – academic work, tuition, enrichment – they hardly have the time and energy to pursue more physical activity.
I also observe that physical education lessons are not scheduled every day in my son’s school, and when they are held, they are in the middle or end of the school day.
Studies have shown that daily physical activity, especially at the start of the day, is important in many ways for children, with benefits such as increased focus and greater energy levels.
If holistic health is what we are after, can we pivot and make changes in these other areas too?
Timothy Wong Shen-Jin
