'Stopping screen time for my son was a gamechanger'
SuppliedThe summer holidays are here and many parents are faced with the same dilemma - how much screen time is too much for my child?
Yet not for Jade, 37, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, who has chosen to keep her four-year-old son Reggie away from screens for almost six months.
In March the government issued new guidance for screen time for children aged under five, citing research that suggested 24% of parents of children aged three to five find it hard to control their child's screen time.
"It's been a gamechanger for his behaviour, his attitude, his whole creativity," Jade said.
Jade said she felt being away from screens helped Reggie be more imaginative, improved his vocabulary and had a positive impact on their relationship.
"The communication and the language is huge.
"We have so many more conversations because I think, if you're sitting in front of a screen, you're not talking whereas I think when we're playing we're constantly talking," she said.
Supplied"It was February half-term and we were going to have a week of no screens while we were away in Northumberland and six months later here we are still going!" Jade said.
"It's definitely hard work, and there are times when it would be so easy to just stick the TV on, but actually it pays off.
"That behaviour you get after they've had a lot of screen time - they're used to that immediacy, that instant gratification of the TV... [so] it's easier in the long run."
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Jennifer Powers, a director of the Unplugged Coalition which campaigns to reduce children's screentime, said: "I think children should be given screens sparingly.
"When they are not hooked up to the dopamine drip that is a tablet or a smartphone that they are able to do all the things that kids are meant to do - they're allowed to use their imagination, entertain themselves and all the rest of it."
"Don't get me wrong, when I'm cooking the dinner or doing my makeup sometimes I'm like, 'Oh it would be easier to just put [a screen] on'.
"But I'm a teacher as well, so I'm fortunate that I've got a lot of activities up my sleeve - we do have a lot of mess in the house though!" Jade added.
An Ofcom report published in May found that 88% of children aged three to seven and 99% of children aged eight to 17 went online.
SuppliedJade stressed she was not "anti-screen" and Reggie does have some screen time.
They will do a film night, and Jade said Reggie is allowed to watch the odd episode of The Mandalorian - as he is a big Star Wars fan.
"But I have to say that's probably only about once a month because he genuinely doesn't really ask for it," she said.
"I'm not saying if people put their children in front of the TV it's negative. For us we haven't needed it," she added.
Reggie loves to read, Jade said, and they often play outside, with a "potion station" set up in the garden for him where he can mix coloured water and paint.
When asked where she got her inspiration for activities to do with Reggie, Jade laughed, admitting, "A screen ironically! There are a lot of parents on Instagram!"
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