First, it is important to follow official medical guidelines around screen time. For example, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry set out the following recommendations:
- Screen time for children younger than 2 years is not recommended.
- For children 2 to 5 years, limit routine or regular non-educational screen time to less than 1 hour per day and three hours on weekends. Educational screen time should also be heavily limited to allow for other social and emotional learning experiences with others and other important learning activities.
- For ages 6 and older, encourage healthy habits and limit activities that include screens.
- Ensure that sedentary screen time is not a routine part of child care.
- Maintain daily ‘screen-free’ times, especially for family meals and book-sharing.
- Avoid screens for at least 1 hour before bedtime, given the potential for melatonin-suppressing effects.
If children are spending too much time in front of a screen, or doing any activity, they will lose focus and interest. Excessive screen time will reduce the educational impact of the session and make it less productive. Short and frequent is a good philosophy when it comes to young children being able to focus.
Here are some other tips to help children focus while Playlearning™️ with Lingokids:
- Remove other distractions such as the TV, toys, or other apps.
- Engage with your child regarding what they have played.
- Ensure your child has had enough sleep and food.
- Have mini-breaks in between activities.
- Help them make connections between what they see and learn in the app to past learning or experiences.
- Adopt a routine where they know when and how long they can play on the app.
- To avoid cognitive overload, try not to give your child other instructions while they are Playlearning™️.