In a world where children use digital devices for everything from education and research to communication and entertainment, it can be hard to curb their screen time. And it may be even harder as the summer school holidays drag out. Zizi Sparks finds out why it's important to keep on
How long is too long to be on a screen? Ways to keep kids off devices these summer holidays
Te Aka Mauri staff TA Rangi (left), Kylie Holmes, and Hannah Swale. Photo / Andrew Warner
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"We know this as parents but we allow it. We've got to step up ourselves.
"It's all about routine. If we let children on devices too long at night, they won't have a good sleep and it's ultimately going to affect us as a family."
Ministry of Health guidelines recommend children from 5 to 17 should spend no more than two hours a day on recreational screen time and do at least one hour of moderate or vigorous physical activity each day as well as other light physical activities across the day.
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It suggests zero use for children under 2 and less than an hour a day for ages 2 to 5.
The guidelines also recommend children get enough sleep with a regular bedtime and wake-up time. It recommends nine to 11 hours for ages 5 to 13 and eight to 10 hours for ages 14 to 17.
However, a 2021 University of Auckland study into screen time for children found seven out of eight Kiwi kids exceeded recommended recreational screen time guidelines.
Screen time: The effects on Children's Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Development was produced by Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures at the University of Auckland.
It included watching television, using social media platforms, and playing games but excluded screen time used for education in class or homework.
The study says the effects of non-educational screen time on children's brain and behavioural development are complex and depend on many factors, including the type of screen activity, the level of engagement by caregivers, and if the content is age-appropriate.
They recommend a family-centric approach where parents and caregivers aim to be more involved in their children's screen time by monitoring content, choosing interactive screen activities rather than passive watching, and balancing screen use with family time.
According to the study, the average 15-year-old in New Zealand spends more than three hours a day and almost one-quarter spend more than six hours a day on the internet outside of school.
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It also found screen time in children is heavily influenced by caregivers' screen behaviours.
With six weeks of summer holidays to fill with activities, it can be difficult to keep children off devices but it is important to limit screen time and find other ways to pass the time.
Veysi suggests rules on device use such as no screens at dinner time.
"There are little things you can be doing. If people can think about adding one thing to their day they can be doing with their children and divert from screen time.
"You've got to consider: is it improving my life or being a problem in my life?"
Veysi admits keeping children off devices during the six-week holidays is a challenge.
"Sometimes parents need these devices to focus children but I think we fall into a bit of a trap. The holidays are a time families can spend quality time with children.
"If we're just using devices as a babysitting tool ... we all fall into this trap ... but that's the time we need to step up as parents."
He says parents need to be conscious about spending too much time on a device themselves and understand what their children's screen time entails.
"If parents are not part of that process they need to understand they may be dealing with problems on the other side. If you are not part of that process you should be accountable for the outcome.
"We can blame the system, the government and blame social media but ultimately we are the parents ... When I was brought up I was into sports and out and about all the time. Something my parents instilled in me with whatever I did was balance. I was able to watch TV and all that stuff. We've totally lost the balance."
Veysi says we are spoiled for choice with parks, playgrounds, walks and the lakes and you don't have to spend money to have fun.
"When I look back I can't remember the presents I got [at Christmas], I remember the time with family."
He suggests getting off devices by trading Minecraft for Lego and other fun activities.
"Go back to basics and let kids do kids' stuff."
Stay active
Steph Reichardt, Sport Bay of Plenty's regional play system lead, says while children "innately want to play", parents are the enablers. They are the ones who say yes or no and set the rules.
"Think back to growing up, how can we enable young people to have these same experiences and allow kids to take those risks?
"If they are handed a device time and time again that becomes play."
Reichardt says play is important to help children figure out their own capabilities and develop practical life skills.
"It's one way to be physically active, it helps with creativity, innovation, and social and emotional connection. They are able to learn conflict resolution ... improve independent leadership and better decision making.
"When climbing trees they are creating these connections in their brain that they wouldn't have the opportunity to do [otherwise]."
Reichardt has countless suggestions for alternatives to spending time on a device – climbing trees, jumping on a trampoline, skipping, or even simply creating with a cardboard box.
She suggests dress-ups or make-believe, building a fort, drawing with chalk or playing with a ball or hacky sack. Even Christmas gifts can encourage children to be active. Think hula hoops, stilts, pogo sticks, or Frisbees – "all those old-school games".
"It's OK to let your kids play and take risks and let them wander. Getting off devices is probably the biggest barrier to play ... if they are occupied with devices they never get that downtime to be bored."
Reichardt quotes Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recently ratified by the New Zealand Government: "Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts."
"Sometimes people think, 'Oh, I'm getting kids to play Monopoly so that's fine,' but the play we're looking at is physically active."
Physical activity ideas: Play with a ball, go for a walk, bounce on a trampoline, housework and yard work, climb a tree, outdoor games such as hopscotch and skipping, ride a bike, backyard camping, build a hut or blanket fort, do a treasure hunt, build a sandcastle.
Reading and literacy
Libraries are a great place to escape the summer heat and chill with a good book, says Tauranga City Council's programmes team leader Anna Hodson.
"Whether it be a picture book about a dinosaur eating (and pooping) the Earth, or a 400-page epic adventure, there is something for everyone. Libraries today are not the libraries of old. You are allowed to have fun and make noise too.
"They are active, vibrant spaces with lots of opportunities for meeting others and exploring new interests."
She says Tauranga City Libraries is running a series of summer initiatives to encourage children to enjoy device-free time.
Shannon Pawhau, acting digital capabilities team leader, says Tauranga City Libraries is hosting a free reading challenge, Kia Kaha Te Pānui – Summer Reads, to encourage reading during the summer break.
It includes a mix of reading and in-library crafts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and some Saturdays.
During the programme, children can visit the library and share their reading experiences with staff. They are rewarded with Bay Venues pool vouchers and entries to prize pack draws, and children who finish the challenge receive a book and certificate.
"We often find that children can be shy the first time they talk with us about the book they have read. But by the third visit, they are eager to tell us the entire plot, their favourite characters and how their holiday is going," says Lauren Jones, a children and teens' programme specialist.
Kia Kaha Te Pānui – Teen Reads is designed specifically for ages 11 to 18 and includes a wide range of activities and incentives too, including a $20 Whitcoulls voucher for everyone who finishes the programme, along with spot prizes.
Activity booklets for the challenges are available from libraries until January 24 and are open to non-members.
Pawhau says she is often asked how much screen time is a good amount.
"As a parent I also understand the notion of needing a little peace and quiet from time to time. While I can certainly recognise the need for balance and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, I am reluctant to write off devices altogether.
"There are some practical and useful tasks a device can be used for that will teach your child important digital literacy skills and help maintain their reading, writing, and mathematics lessons over the 'summer slump'."
Pawhau suggests blogging and vlogging about their latest reads or experiences.
"Kids can exercise their creative licence, increase their language skills, and use a mix of media platforms to express their ideas."
Or you can use an eBook or eAudio book to encourage reading on the go.
"They are accessible anywhere, take up less space, and are interactive and engaging. An eAudio book gives children with learning difficulties or visual impairments opportunities to read and practise pronunciation of words."
Pawhau also suggests coding and programming to teach critical thinking and problem-solving as well as creativity, innovation and computational thinking. The app Scratch 3.0 for children 8 and above, and Scratch Junior for 5 to 8-year-olds is a good place to start.
Rotorua's Te Aka Mauri is also running a Summer Reading Challenge in which children "read their way around Lake Rotorua" by marking their progress on a map for every 15 minutes spent reading for a total of eight hours.
Kylie Holmes, youth and early learning lead at Te Aka Mauri, says the challenge also allows children to wipe fines. For every 15-minute block, the library takes $2 off fees and fines. The challenge runs to early February and includes spot prizes.
"Some children complete many sheets, for others completing one sheet is a huge achievement and we celebrate that."
The library also has "busy bags" containing all children need for a craft or Stem activity. If they share what they complete, they can win prizes.
Te Aka Mauri also has a toy library and eAudio books, which Holmes recommends for long car rides.
"School holidays are typically busy and we all love watching young people come in, seeing them in the library and take books home."
Bookish ideas: Read a book or hire an eBooks or eAudio book, write a story, plan and perform a show, learn about coding and programming, make a blog or vlog.
Be creative
The Incubator Creative Hub at Tauranga's Historic Village can be bustling during the school holidays.
Director Simone Anderson says the hub has a packed programme for children and adults including everything from portrait painting to doll making and more. She says the hub ensures there is a mix of free and paid events so they are accessible.
It also has a pay-it-forward system where corporates can sponsor activities for kids in need. The children often say that it makes them feel good to go out and do something creative.
This year it is also hosting a Summer Arts Academy for all ages.
The hub's rock hunt days are among its most popular, says Anderson.
"The village is so vast and there are so many nooks and crannies. We do a workshop day where people paint then hide the rocks ... It's a great way to get kids out and about on a scavenger hunt."
Anderson believes getting tamariki off devices is important.
"How quick kids are to say 'I'm bored' and they don't look out the window in the car because they are on a device. They are missing everything going on around them when on a device.
"You have to make a concerted effort to get into that creative zone and it's not by getting on a screen. We love to see kids down here in the summer."
For the full programme, visit the Incubator Creative Hub website.
Creative ideas: Get crafty - make a sock puppet, painting, origami, play a musical instrument, indoor games such as charades and board games and puzzles, dress up, bake something, go on a rock or scavenger hunt.
While there are plenty of ways to pass the summer holidays and limit screen time, the University of Auckland screen time study also found despite the negative connotations of excessive screen time, it may do screens "a disservice to apply blanket limitations instead of advice on how to engage with screens positively".
It found some screen-time limits conflated screen time with sedentary behaviour and didn't consider newer technologies such as smartphone applications with interactive elements, or options that deliberately encourage physical activity such as geocaching.
"Although the widespread uptake of the internet and social media has been blamed for the rise in anxiety and depression among adolescents in recent years, there is also evidence of positive benefits."
It is all about moderation.
Recommendations for ages 5 to 17
• Do lots of physical activity: At least an hour of moderate or vigorous physical activity spread over each day. Do a variety of light physical activities for several hours a day.
• Include vigorous physical activity and activities that strengthen muscles and bones at least three days a week.
• Spend no more than 2 hours a day on recreational screen time.
• Get enough sleep: 9 to 11 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep each night for 5 to 13-year-olds and 8 to 10 hours for 14 to 17-year-olds. Have a regular bedtime and wake-up time.
• Trade indoor time for outdoor time and replace sitting time and light physical activity with more moderate or vigorous physical activity.
Source: Ministry of Health
Screen-time recommendations
• Avoid passive screen time for under 2s.
• Choose educational content for preschoolers.
• Prioritise interactive content for children and join in.
• Balance screen time with other activities.
• Talk with teens about social media pitfalls.
Source: Screen time: The effects on Children's Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Development
