As screens continue to take over the world, there has been much debate about the positive and negative health benefits of allowing children to use mobile devices. While the opinions on this topic vary wildly, one woman’s picture has taken the internet by storm as she revealed the heartwarming results of a screen-ban in her house.
The mother who took the picture was Molly DeFrank.
Molly DeFrank (pictured above) is a writer, blogger, and mom of four. Her children are between the ages of 9 months to 6 years, and Ms. DeFrank uses her extensive experience as a mom to write her blog.
DeFrank’s blog consists of plenty of advice for parents in all areas of childcare.
DeFrank shared the viral image on her blog.
DeFrank shared the above image under the title, “How to help your kids quit screens”, and the heartwarming picture shows her children all huddled together reading books. She wrote :
“My kids love all of the screens, from Netflix and YouTube to Minecraft and Fortnight. But the screens do not love my kids back. It turns out that screens were doing to my children exactly what the studies claimed they were doing: cultivating distracted, grumpy and argumentative little people. Not what I want for my babies who I love more than life.”
DeFrank has since weened her children off of screens.
DeFrank and her husband had initially cut down the amount of screen time that her children were allowed down to 1 hour per day, according to Yahoo Lifestyle .
However, in her blog, DeFrank explained that when her kindergartener asked if they could play on her phone, that was the final straw that pushed them to completely ban screens.
Apparently the kids were less than happy at first.
However, she went on to explain that after the kids had their initial fury at the idea, they eventually moved on. She explained:
“What started as a thirty-day screen detox has become a lifestyle overhaul in our home of five children under the age of ten. Quitting was shockingly easy, surprisingly sustainable, and my nine-year-old daughter has told me on several occasions that she’s glad we’ve cut them out.
“My daughter reads books faster than I can buy them [and] my son has taught family art classes”.
So, it would appear that the screen ban seems to be working.
While the teaching family art class sounds like overly cutesy fiction, the idea of getting kids to cut down on screens surely can’t be a bad thing. Anything that encourages kids to read is a force for good. And, that’s not just the embittered English graduate talking, but someone who has gotten a great deal out of literature.
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There are fantastic stories out there, stories which can transform the way you think and see the world around you for the better. Also, without people writing amazing novels, most of the stuff you see on TV wouldn’t exist!
However, screens are an unavoidable facet of modern society.
While it has apparently worked for this family, there are also professionals who claim that screens aren’t completely damaging to children, but are fine in moderation.
Dr. Max Davie, the officer for health promotion at The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, explained to the Guardian :
“I think it is important to encourage parents to do what is right by their family […] We suggest that age-appropriate boundaries are established, negotiated by parent and child, that everyone in the family understands. When these boundaries are not respected, actions need to be put in place with parents making consequences clear.”
So, the debate around what amount of screen time is appropriate for your child may simply depend on your child’s personality. However, for now, the debate will continue on.
h/t: The Guardian & Yahoo
