With the advent of technology and easy access to online games and apps, it is easy for kids to become dependent on electronics and gadgets. This has been known to negatively impact children, making them fall behind on daily life activities such as eating, communicating, resting, and even socialising or completing their academic tasks.

Parents struggle as they find themselves trying to find balance between allowing their child to watch TV and enabling them to participate in activities that do not require a screen. From playing outside at a park to baking a dessert, here are a few tips to help your child unplug from screens –

• Reading
Comics and graphic novels are a great way to introduce your child to reading: they’re like TV but with captions. Simple follow along text and pictures that bring a story to life and pique your child’s curiosity and interest.

• Playing a sport
Sports are a great way to get children involved in teamwork and unity. Plus, they get kids moving and keep them active and healthy. Similarly, playing outside with friends gives children an opportunity to make new friends or build stronger bonds with old ones.

• Grow a garden
Gardens can serve as an outdoor classroom for showing kids how and where we get our food from while connecting them to nature and the environment. Not only is it a fun learning experience for children, but also a great way of teaching them responsibility, caretaking, and environmental awareness.

• Create a Board Game Area
Assemble all of your family board games and create a small space in the home set aside specially for family activities that will uplift your kids’ mood to enjoy board games together.

• Cooking with Kids
Sure, cooking can be a chore, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. Rather than just asking kids to do the mundane things such as chopping and peeling vegetables, cooking can be made fun for the kids by finding some kid-friendly recipes that include their interests and favourite dishes.

• Encourage storytelling
Have the family sit around at a time when everyone is free and all daily chores complete. Everyone can be given 5 minutes to think of a story and then narrate it to the others. Not only will this promote family bonding, but it will also help children to imagine for themselves while opening up their minds to new perspectives or ideas.

• Provide Open-Ended Toys
Introducing your child to experimental toys such as LEGO, crayons, building blocks, dollhouses, etc. that provide independent and pretend play, allowing them to express their creativity and inspiring them to come up with new ways to use the same materials.

There are various ways to engage young children as they are innately curious, capable and strong. Taking into consideration your kids’ interests and how well they do with independent playtime, these ideas help kids navigate easily from screen time to other activities, and will eventually strengthen the bond between the child and parent.