Encouraging your kids to play screen-free doesn’t mean you have to send them back to the 80’s. We live in a time of innovation, where every product—from refrigerators to wristwatches— is upping its tech game, innovating, and making products easier and more fun to use. And outdoor toys aren’t stuck in the dark ages. Razor has been integrating technology into outdoor play for almost twenty years and, like Relay, is using their technology to promote active and adventurous childhood. Curious what they’re all about? We talked to Erin Bitar at Razor about their products and the impact they’re having on kids of all ages.
So what is Razor all about?
We know wheels. Since 2000, we have been reimagining the way we move with products designed for getting around town, having fun, and enjoying the outdoors. We first transformed the scooter and turned it into a global phenomenon called The Razor A Kick Scooter. Maybe you had one. Maybe your kids or grandkids do.
We have continued to invent all types of products on wheels – launching electric scooters in 2003, then electric skateboards, hoverboards, trikes, motorbikes, to name a few.
How does Razor use modern technology to encourage active play, and what sets high tech toys apart from the classics?
We are constantly innovating our products to encourage kids to leave their screens at home andget outside. Just like innovations in computers, telecommunications, and video games, we knew that outdoor toys needed an upgrade, too! We create technology that gets kids excited about getting active alongside their friends, siblings, and families and reimagines the way people get moving.
Razor has a long history of transforming products with innovative design and cutting-edge technology. We started by giving the scooter a much-needed redesign and proceeded to not only turn old favorites into cool new products, but create entirely new outdoor toys. Advancements in technology have not only opened up our imaginations to endless possibilities of products but also inspires the imaginations of customers to think about new ways to use and have fun with our products.
How does Razor encourage less screen time for kids, and why is outdoor play so important to begin with?
We design products that use technology kids intuitively understand and want to try out. Our products encourage open-ended play—they spark kids’ curiosity and creativity, both in understanding the tech behind the toy and using it in their outdoor adventures. When kids discover open-ended play fused with new and unique technology, it’s much easier for them to forget about screen media and get active.
There are many reported benefits of active play for children as it helps with their physical and mental, and social development. Kids learn through active play and it encourages them to interact and play with other children and observe the world around them. Ultimately, active play can help create a balanced and healthy lifestyle. When kids learn to play outside from early ages, they learn how much fun and rewarding it can be. These early experiences and habits can shape the way kids have fun and enjoy spending their time. When kids play outside, it can lead to an active lifestyle through adulthood.
Excited to bring free play into the modern age with your family with Relay?
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/turbojetts-1.jpg300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-21 13:11:102021-04-02 11:22:52Can High Tech Toys Reduce Screen Time for Kids?
We started with simple one-touch communication that keeps families connected, no matter the distance. We started with durability, integrity, and powerful tech that left lots of room to grow. The Relay team has been working hard to bring you great new features that set Relay apart. Last month, we launched the Channel Store so you could pick from all our available features and add and remove them from each of your Relays. Well, we have some brand new channels as well as some updates to the Relay app that will make your life more convenient!
Brand new in the Relay Channel Store
Listen to music right on your Relay
Take advantage of local storage to add your favorite music files. On the music channel, you can shuffle your playlist and listen to all your favorite tunes out loud or with headphones! First, add the music channel to your Relay through the app. Next, switch the Relay to the music channel. Then add MP3, MP4, and many other file types to your Relay. For all supported file types, see this Help Center article! Using your charging cable, plug your Relay into your computer via the USB A port. (If you use a Mac, you’ll have to install Android File Transfer.) From there, you can access your Relay to drag and drop music files!
When you switch your Relay to the music channel, your tunes will start playing automatically. Press the “talk” button once to begin playing or pause, press it twice to skip a song, three times to skip backwards, and press and hold the “talk” button to turn shuffle on and off.
Learn every day with the Translate Channel
Just speak into your Relay and hear your words translated into Spanish! All you have to do is add the translate channel to your Relay through the app, switch to the translate channel, press the “talk” button, and speak! Relay will translate your words for you and repeat them back.
Relay app features that make life a little easier
Activity Alert
Know when you’ve missed a message with activity alerts. It isn’t feasible to keep your Relay app open at all times, so we have a solution that keeps you in touch. Now you’ll receive a push notification whenever someone talks on your channels. You can see who is trying to reach you and respond quickly by opening the Relay app. Say goodbye to being out of the loop!
Auto-generate new Relay name
You can already change your Relay’s names to anything you want (like, Mom, Dad, or Jim) through the app, but if you like the automatic Relay names and didn’t end up with your favorite animal, you can auto-generate a new name. In the Relay app, select the Relay whose name you want to change, tap the three vertical dots next to “Manage Relay,” and select “Get a new animal name.”
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/09_feat_tn-1.jpg300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-19 16:20:082021-04-02 11:23:02Channel Alerts, Music, and More! Stay in the Loop
Screen time is a family affair. It’s not easy to set rules, much less enforce them, if you don’t have the power of consensus on your side. But it’s rare when the whole family can reach an agreement on screen time rules when there are differing opinions on healthy amounts of screen time as well as what kinds of screen time should be limited.
Kids and screens
If you’re a parent with young children, you’ve probably experienced screen time pushback from your child—you lift the tablet or smartphone from your little one’s fingers, and they protest. You gently insist, and the waterworks start. You let them know this isn’t helping their case, and the real meltdown begins. It’s painful to see our children upset. Maybe we give in when they act out―51 percent of parents couldn’t imagine traveling without screens to serve as digital pacifiers, and 21 percent of parents have the same policy when going out to dinner¹. Even if parents maintain their rules in the face of tears, these tantrums and disagreements take their toll on our families.
“My five-year-old boy cries as if his best friend died when asked to get off the PS4. For my 8 and 5-year-old, it’s the first thing they think about when they wake up.” -Survey Respondent
1 in 3 parents regularly argue with their kids about screen time, and over half of parents, at 52 percent, experience their kids’ anger and frustration when putting a stop to screen time for the day. And when you take into account the 1 in 5 parents who don’t make rules about screen time, that means only 35 percent of parents who set some kind of rules around screen time are able to turn off the tech without frequent angry protests¹.
Grownups and screens
Family discord doesn’t stop between parents and kids. Parents often disagree about how much screen time is appropriate for their child—and for each other. Over a quarter of parents, at 26 percent, regularly argue with each other about their kids’ screen time, and about the same amount of parents argue over how much time their partner spends looking at screens, at 27 percent¹.
“My husband is addicted to screen time and doesn’t see anything wrong with it, allowing our kids to follow in his footsteps.” – Survey Respondent
When parents can’t find common ground on screen time or hold different beliefs about what is and isn’t appropriate, it’s hard to enforce any kind of rules for kids. So how, in the face of so much evidence, can some parents not believe in enforcing screen time restrictions? It’s actually pretty easy to relate – they’ve even got a point. Not all screen media is bad.
Is all screen time created equal?
Well, of course not. There’s TV, video games, apps, news, academic journals, and so much more. Screens, and more specifically, the internet, are just a source of information. And not all information is equal. Some of it is factual, some of it is entertaining, and some of it is harmful. 76 percent of us agree that technology can be a bad thing.¹ When you consider screen addiction and its effects on sleep, vision, and physical activity, that one’s a given. But that’s not the whole story. To get a clearer picture you have to look past the screen and see the types of screen media that comprise your family’s digital diet.
61 percent of us use technology as a teaching tool with our kids.¹ This can mean a lot more than putting on educational TV or playing math games. Many TV shows, movies, and even video games can teach kids about the world around them, about people and morality. Watching certain screen media with your kid can provide valuable opportunities for productive discussion. For example, when you and your kid watch The Lion King, there’s room to address mortality, friendship, honesty and dishonesty, and so much more. 65 percent of parents believe that technology can enhance experiences with others¹, and when you look at the elements that comprise a healthy digital diet, that seems reasonable. But not all screen media is like that.
“My husband and I are on total opposite pages—he is a technology and gaming fanatic, so the more the better in his opinion. I am an early childhood educator—we are on two different levels.” -Survey Respondent
59 percent of parents believe that screen time disrupts quality time with our family¹. That also seems reasonable when you think about kids entranced by tablet screens, parents half-listening to their children while scrolling social media, and the more antisocial aspects of screens. Now, when you look at the numbers, 65 percent believing tech brings us together, and 59 percent touting the opposite, it doesn’t seem to add up. That means that many parents have it right – technology does both, depending on when you use it, how often you use it, and what you use it for.
Talking it out
If you, your partner, and your kid or kids hold different views on screen time, creating rules can be tough and will certainly require compromise on all sides. For screen-shy parents, taking time to recognize the individual value of screen media is important. For tech-forward parents, recognizing the benefits of time limits for your child will go a long way. For kids old enough to participate in the discussion, feeling heard and understood is crucial to their active participation. Ideally, your family will end up with a set of screen time rules that allow a certain amount of screen time per day, consisting of valuable pieces of screen media that your child still enjoys.
Relay supports healthy digital habits for kids of all ages. If your kid isn’t quite ready for a phone of their own, try the screen-free alternative that kids love and parents trust.
Nationally representative online survey of 1,403 U.S. parents of children aged 6-11 conducted by Republic Wireless; May 2018
About The Study:
The Relay Bring Back Play Study was fielded online by Republic Wireless from April 27, 2018 to May 2, 2018 in partnership with Critical Mix, a global insights data provider and owner of consumer online survey panel, OneOpinion. A total of 1,403 parents of children aged 6-11 were interviewed across the US. The margin of sampling error for total respondents (N=1,403) is +2.6 percentage points.
About Critical Mix
Critical Mix creates insights that drive business decisions with easy, collaborative tools to access global target audiences, program engaging surveys and visualize results. Insights professionals around the world rely on Critical Mix’s simplified solutions to innovate and grow. Critical Mix is passionate about providing the best customer experience in the industry. Supporting every project with a dedicated, always-available team of professionals who anticipate needs and provide thoughtful customer care. The company operates globally with locations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Call us at 1-800-651-8240 or email simplify@criticalmix.com.
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/bbp_03_tn-1.jpg300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-18 16:41:572021-04-02 11:23:07Bring Back Play: Family Screen Time Disagreements
Video games for kids—it’s one of many topics that divide the internet. Whether you’re 100% anti-video game or playing Fortnite and Minecraft right alongside your kid, you can bet that someone, somewhere on the internet thinks that you’re doing it wrong. But there are no one-size-fits-all rules for video games at home—every kid is unique and will react to games in their own way, and no two families are alike. So let’s take a look at what video games bring to the table for kids, explore the good parts and the bad parts, and talk about how your family can make informed decisions about video games for your kid that are custom-tailored to your family and not someone else’s.
5 Positives of Video Games for Kids
1. Video games can teach kids about teamwork
Many multiplayer games can teach kids to work with their friends to solve puzzles, defeat the big bad Boss, or build a cool structure. Older games that have a split-screen multiplayer mode, or “couch co-op,” are perfect for siblings to practice working together to achieve a goal. Newer games are often connected to the internet so your kid can play with their friends, whether they’re in the same room or not.
2. Kids can experience physics fundamentals and other STEM learning
In recent years, games’ physics engines have gotten more and more realistic—OK, some games have gotten more realistic! Obviously, it’s important for your kid to know that they shouldn’t try to hop around like a Smash Bros character, but some games have great takeaways about how objects move through space. Take the Portal series for example, where the physics of moving through portals is a key part of gameplay. Your kid can gain an intuitive understanding of acceleration, gravity, and other basic Newtonian mechanics. While it’s no substitute for book learning, it can spark your kid’s interest and get them excited about STEM learning.
3. Video games can give kids a larger sense of community
Whether your kid is watching their favorite player on Youtube or Twitch, watching the yearly updates at E3, or simply taking part in an online forum about their favorite game, these experiences foster a sense of community. It can make your kid feel like a part of a group and can even be a talking point when making new friends IRL, especially if the game is multiplayer or is popular for their age.
4. Video games can teach kids to be good digital citizens
Many connected games have chat features, either text, voice, or both. Even if your kid is too young to talk via voice chat—Common Sense Media recommends waiting until your kid is 13 or has equivalent maturity level¹—text chat with other players can be a good way to practice being kind and civil online—especially if the game allows mean comments to be reported or censors bad words. And if you kid plays a game with friends online, they can always use their Relays instead of public game chat (bonus!)
5. Video games can teach kids moral lessons
Many video games follow the traditional “good character wins, bad character gets their comeuppance” story model. And lots of newer story-based games have more complicated decision elements where kids get to see the varying outcomes of the decisions they make in-game. In this way, they can see the negative consequences of poor moral decisions as well as the positive repercussions of good decisions. The immersive aspect of video games makes these moral lessons hit a little closer to home than seeing them in a TV show or movie. They can also be a jumping-off point for a parent-child conversation about what they are seeing or doing in-game.
5 Negatives of Video Games for Kids
1. Time spent playing video games is time not spent moving around
A child’s time is a zero-sum game—that is to say, every minute they spend doing something (like gaming) is a minute they can’t spend doing something else (like playing outside.) One common complaint about video games—and about screen media in general—is the correlation between sedentary behavior and obesity.² To avoid that, kids should ideally have a good balance between game time and get-up-and-move-around-time.
2. Video games can hinder imagination and creativity
When your kid is playing a video game, they are enjoying someone else’s creative work. They don’t need to come up with their own ideas in order to make the game interesting and fun—the developers and writers already took care of that. Most games are very structured—they have rules, dictated outcomes, a set plotline, and invisible walls to keep you where you should be. Even larger “open-world” games have structure, albeit a much bigger one where the player can complete tasks in a different order and customize their experience. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some games with creative elements, like structure and character building, can provide an outlet for creative expression in-game.
3. Video games can be hard on the eyes—and hard on bedtime
If your kid is gaming for hours upon hours a day, they may strain their eyes³, and that’s no fun for anybody. And if they play too much in the evenings, it could either delay their bedtime (just one more game, pleeease!) or prevent them from falling asleep at bedtime due to the light from the screen or the excitement from the game. As with other screen media, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting screen time such that it doesn’t interfere with sleep or other healthy activities.⁴
4. Video games can contain microtransactions and ads
A microtransaction is a purchase that can be made inside a game for real money. Often, like in the popular online game Fortnite, you can pay real money for in-game currency to buy costumes, perks, and other fun things. As well, if your kid plays free games, especially on smartphones and tablets, they can be exposed to periodic advertisements. It can be tempting for kids to fall prey to ads and microtransactions, and it’s definitely worth having a talk as a family about where you stand on the subject.
5. Violent video games—need we say more?
Sometimes it’s gory. Sometimes it’s bloodless. But violence in the video game world has been occurring since Frogger first tried to cross the street and it isn’t going away any time soon. Luckily, there are plenty of great weapon-and-violence-free games that still fulfill many of the pros listed above. The degree of permissible game violence for your kid depends on your opinion most of all, as well as your kid’s age and maturity level.
So should you buy your kid a game?
When deciding which video games, if any, are right for your child, we highly recommend taking a look at Common Sense Media’s game reviews, which go in-depth about multiple content categories and tend to be more accurate than the age-ratings on the video game box. You can also take a look at our interview with Caroline Knorr, Senior Parenting Editor at Common Sense media for some quick tips around video games, screen time, and media. Most importantly, we recommend talking to the whole family so everyone is on the same page.
Click the picture below for a printable guide covering some topics to discuss with your family about gaming and whether it fits in your household.
Kievlan, Patricia Monticello. “Kid Reviews for Discord – Chat for Gamers | Common Sense Media.” Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media, 24 Mar. 2017, www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/discord-chat-for-gamers/user-reviews/child.
Robinson, Thomas N., et al. “Screen Media Exposure and Obesity in Children and Adolescents.” Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2017, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/Supplement_2/S97.
“Give Your Child’s Eyes a Screen-Time Break: Here’s Why.” HealthyChildren.org, American Academy of Pediatrics, 28 Aug. 2017, www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/eyes/Pages/What-Too-Much-Screen-Time-Does-to-Your-Childs-Eyes.aspx.
“American Academy of Pediatrics Announces New Recommendations for Childrens Media Use.” Aap.org, American Academy of Pediatrics, 21 Oct. 2016, www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx.
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/vg_tn-1.png300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-18 16:38:082021-04-02 11:23:21Choosing Appropriate Video Games for Kids: A Parent’s Guide
When we consider why our kids are so entranced by the screens in their homes, we need to consider all the factors involved so we can get them up and playing again. To do that, we need to take a long look at ourselves to see how our actions—both consciously through the rules we set and unconsciously through our actions—can affect our kids’ screen habits for better or worse.
Kids learn by watching
The average adult spends 47 hours in front of screens every week,¹ a little bit longer than they typically spend at their day jobs. We’ve all heard that kids learn by watching, so if your 6-11 year-old sees you binge-watching Netflix while scrolling through Instagram, guess what they might start wanting to do? You guessed it—they’re following in our footsteps. These days, our kids are spending more time in front of screens than ever. The average screen time for kids age 6-11 is 33 hours per week—more than a typical part-time job¹ and over 20 more hours than some psychologists recommend⁶. As our kids learn, we as parents have a responsibility to watch what we’re teaching—even if we aren’t teaching with words.
“My kids often tell me that it isn’t fair because I spend so much time on my computer.” -Survey Respondent
How much screen time should parents allow?
Our kids learn to love screen time by watching us—but do we let them indulge? 1 in 5 parents don’t set any screen time rules for their kids, despite the AAP recommendation that digital media exposure should be limited for children of all ages.4 But some, around 36 percent, will set some kind of screen time limit on weekdays. And around 6 percent of parents prohibit weekday screen time altogether.¹
“A tablet is like a sweet—it isn’t good for you every day.” -Survey Respondent
So which strategy is best? Which will send your kid on a path of creativity, independence, and responsibility? Every family is different, and nobody can tell you what will work in your home and what won’t. Working out the right screen time rules for your family is a very personal matter—and it can change as your child gains in maturity and develops outside interests. The most important part of setting rules is talking about it to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Is screen time too valuable to our kids?
When it comes to setting rules around screen time, many parents share a similar philosophy: good behavior earns screen time and bad behavior limits it. 79 percent of parents take away screen time for bad behavior and 50 percent of parents use it as a reward for doing homework, chores, and other productive activities.¹ And it’s no wonder this carrot-and-stick philosophy is so popular—it’s operant conditioning, the same method we often use to train pets.
“If his grades go down or if he doesn’t spend time outdoors going on a bike ride etc, or exercise, we will take away his tablet.” -Survey Respondent
With addictive screen time on the line, kids are likely to behave better and work harder in order to gain screen time or avoid losing their allotted amount. And for many parents, the resulting clean room and emptied dishwasher makes the strategy worthwhile. But many psychologists and doctors recommend against using screen time as a carrot or a stick when teaching good behavior and responsibility.5
When parents use screen time as a primary reward and punishment, they are teaching that screens are desirable. Kids will learn to measure how “good” they’ve been by how much screen time they’re allowed. In effect, they associate “good” with “screen” and “bad” with “no screen” during their most formative years.
“Sometimes we have taken away his screen time, but I think that just makes him want more screen time. It makes it more valuable to him.” -Survey Respondent
This conditions children to believe that screen time is better than other activities. It places screen time at the top of the playtime hierarchy compared to other things, such as reading, playing outside, or seeing friends. At the extreme, other kinds of play become just another chore to suffer through on the journey to screen time—and that takes the magic out of imaginative play. If free play isn’t done freely, it loses so much of what makes it beneficial for development.
Safety first, and safety foremost
Example-setting, screen time rules, and behavioral conditioning are some of the more direct ways that a parent’s attitude towards technology can affect the way their kids grow up. Some connections are a lot more subtle and more difficult to recognize.
Remember when we talked about playing in the park, the backyard, and the neighborhood in the last chapter? A significant percentage of us were able to play freely when we were younger. Our kids, not so much. And why is that? Simply put, over 70 percent of parents believe that the world is a more dangerous place for kids today than it was when we were growing up—even though child mortality rates have dropped by nearly half since the 1990’s².
“In my day, you didn’t have to worry about bad things happening and you could trust your kids outside. Now you can’t trust anything.” -Survey Respondent
Despite that, many parents fervently believe that taking eyes off their kids could put them in very real danger. And even though reports of missing children have declined steeply since the 1990s², 62 percent of parents we surveyed are more concerned about their child being abducted by a stranger than about other health and safety hazards.¹
Barely half the parents we surveyed are concerned about their kids having too much screen time. Even fewer parents, at 42 percent, are concerned that their kids aren’t able to exercise their creativity and imagination. And only 40 percent of parents are concerned about their kids’ shortage of outdoor play.¹ In a way, it makes a lot of sense. Kidnapping and physical harm are visceral and emotional topics, whereas screen addiction and physical/mental stagnation—while very real and serious—don’t have that same sense of urgency and fear behind them.
“In the world we live in, I am afraid to let my kids leave my house without their phones.” -Survey Respondent
So why would a caregiver keep their 6-11 year-old indoors on a screen in the name of safety when, statistically speaking, it’s safer than ever outdoors? In many cases, the answer is technology. More specifically, it’s what Steven Horwitz of St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY calls “availability bias.3”
What is the availability bias?
When parents watch the news, see TV shows, read articles online, or see scary headlines while scrolling on social media, they see abduction, murder, and other truly sad and scary situations. While these situations are statistically rare, they’re all over the news and all over the plots of our TV shows and movies. And it’s the headline we remember, not the statistics.
Then when we think about letting our kid walk alone to the neighbor’s house and wonder if it’s safe, our minds swerve right back into those headlines. We see them so often. Stuff like that must happen all the time. And even though it doesn’t happen all the time, our brains don’t work like that. We intuitively gauge frequency by how often we remember hearing about or seeing something. Through our technology, media tells us to be scared for our kids, no matter what the statistics say. And since these scary headlines are readily available, our brains tell us that these situations are common.
“These misperceived risks put inordinate demands on parents’ time for very little in the way of benefit, creating stressed-out parents and kids.3” -Steven Horwitz, PHD
So we keep our kids in sight. And when we can’t keep them in sight because we’re busy, we keep them indoors. Steven Horwitz says this preventative step might actually hurt our kids more than it helps them.3 Because we aren’t seeing headlines everywhere we look about what can happen when our kids get less exercise, more eye strain, less mental stimulation, fewer chances to exercise their vast imaginations. That’s just not as sensational.
Power to the parent
When we think about own habits, rules, and behaviors like this, it’s easy to feel a little guilty—but there’s no need for guilt. Technology is addictive and it’s pervasive. And that’s not your fault. You are the only one that can help your child become the creative, healthy intelligent person that he or she is meant to be. Now all you have to do is get the rest of the family on the same page.
Read more to see how to handle the times your family disagrees about screen time, smartphones, and digital diet.
1. Nationally representative online survey of 1,403 U.S. parents of children aged 6-11 conducted by Republic Wireless; May 2018
2. “There’s Never Been a Safer Time to Be a Kid in America.” The Washington Post. April 14, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/14/theres-never-been-a-safer-time-to-be-a-kid-in-america/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1f3826d5843c.
3. “The Risks of Mental Shortcuts about Risks.” Join Me at LetGrow.org, Where the Free-Range Movement Continues! http://www.freerangekids.com/the-risks-of-mental-shortcuts-about-risks/.
4. “American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.” Site Title. https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx.
5. Owenz, Meghan. “Screen-Time Should NOT Be a Reward.” Screenfreeparenting.com. August 21, 2018. http://www.screenfreeparenting.com/screen-time-should-not-be-a-reward/.
6.Owenz, Meghan. “Screen Time Recommendations For Kids By Age. Screen-Free Parenting’s Personal Screen Use Guidelines.” Screenfreeparenting.com. September 15, 2016. http://www.screenfreeparenting.com/screen-time-recommendations-for-kids-by-age/.
About The Study:
The Relay Bring Back Play Study was fielded online by Republic Wireless from April 27, 2018 to May 2, 2018 in partnership with Critical Mix, a global insights data provider and owner of consumer online survey panel, OneOpinion. A total of 1,403 parents of children aged 6-11 were interviewed across the US. The margin of sampling error for total respondents (N=1,403) is +2.6 percentage points.
About Critical Mix
Critical Mix creates insights that drive business decisions with easy, collaborative tools to access global target audiences, program engaging surveys and visualize results. Insights professionals around the world rely on Critical Mix’s simplified solutions to innovate and grow. Critical Mix is passionate about providing the best customer experience in the industry. Supporting every project with a dedicated, always-available team of professionals who anticipate needs and provide thoughtful customer care. The company operates globally with locations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Call us at 1-800-651-8240 or email simplify@criticalmix.com.
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/mom_phone_tn-1.png300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-18 14:50:162021-04-02 11:23:26Bring Back Play: Screen Time Parenting
Kids are growing up in a completely different world than we did—but what makes it so different? They have the same neighborhoods, the same backyards, school activities, and friends. But they also have technology that exceeds our wildest playtime imaginings from back in the day. No, they don’t have personal rocket ships, but they do have a magic portal that shows them anything they want to see, manufactures canned fun, and entrances them for hours on end. And often, they have more than one of these magic devices to choose from whenever they get bored.
Kids are staying in more
The average household has 15 tech devices; 10 with screens—that’s 3.7 devices and 2.4 screens per person¹. Screen time presents a challenge that our parents only got a small taste of during Saturday morning cartoons. Now our kids not only have cartoons, but also video games, apps, and cameras on-demand—all day every day. That’s a lot of temptation for a kid, and a lot of responsibility for a caregiver to regulate.
Between the wide availability of screens in our homes and their inherent brand of “fun,” it’s not surprising that kids are spending more time on screens and less time outdoors than their parents did in their own childhoods. While 73 percent of us fondly remember having played outdoor games with friends, like Four Square, Tag, and Capture the Flag, only 60 percent of our 6-11 year-olds enjoy those same activities today. And only 1 in 10 (9 percent) of our kids consider outdoor play their favorite activity¹.
So why is that important? Should kids play outside?
According to the CDC, it’s essential.The CDC recommends at least an hour per day of physical activity for kids², and active free play does wonders for kids growing minds as well as their muscles. And while screens may feel fun, they often don’t provide that same cognitive or physical boost.
Video games are replacing other forms of play
Through screens, kids are receiving a dangerously versatile form of entertainment. Though many of our younger kids don’t have access to smartphones yet and watch about the same amount of TV as we did in our youth, video games have taken the place of many outdoor activities for them. Only 36 percent of us remember playing video games when we were growing up—but 65 percent of our 6-11 year-olds play video games at least weekly today. And video games are the number one preferred activity among our children.¹
“Our children have more and more friends who use video games and phones and won’t interact without those.” -Survey Respondent
Let’s not forget that video games themselves have drastically changed since our childhood. They’ve gotten more connected and more addictive, with internet-connected servers, superior graphics, and in-game purchases targeted at children. Video games have also arguably become more social—the difference being that kids today can talk and play with their friends and with strangers from a distance rather than on the couch together. That easy access to distance communication can prevent real playdates from occurring, becoming a child’s preferred form of social interaction.
Are video games bad for kids?
Like many things, video games themselves aren’t bad in moderation, but the way they’re used can be. Internet gaming disorder was recently added to the DSM V as a behavioral addiction³. And while many children that play games do not have a video game addiction, screen time is still an issue for their eyes and muscles. Screen time hours add up, and that’s worth paying attention to—especially if it is affecting their bedtime, their exercise, and the time they have for other kinds of free play.
Kids aren’t as independent as they used to be
This glowing glass web that’s encircling our children doesn’t just affect their Vitamin D levels, their physical fitness, and their social lives. 42 percent of parents agree that our kids today have less independence than we did when we were growing up, and even more of us, at 51 percent, believe our kids are less imaginative than we were when we were growing up.¹ And it’s not hard to see why.
“If we turn off their idiot boxes, they have no clue what to do with themselves and they hassle us to entertain them… we can’t get anything done or have any free time for ourselves.” -Survey Respondent
Kids have playtime options today that require less effort, less imagination, and less active participation than we had, and it’s far easier to be passively entertained than to take the initiative to create your own fun. When playtime has pre-set rules like in a video game or an app, or even the one unwritten rule of TV—sit and watch—kids aren’t challenged to think, to stretch their creative muscles, or to even try beating boredom without a technological crutch.
But what other choices do our children have?
With so many screens in our homes, can we expect a child who is still developing his or her self-control to make the independent choice to put down the easy entertainment option and create challenges for themselves? Maybe they could if they had some attractive alternatives. But it’s hard to get creative or forge any sort of independence during childhood when you can’t roam your neighborhood, go to a friend’s house by yourself, or even play in the backyard.
“51 percent of us enjoyed playing in public parks unsupervised as kids… only 26 percent of our kids are allowed to do the same.¹”
Playing outside without direct parental supervision just isn’t as easy as it used to be when we were kids. When is it appropriate for a kid to stay home alone? Play outside alone? Far fewer parents believe their 11-year-olds are ready for either. Where 51 percent of us enjoyed playing in public parks unsupervised as kids, only 26 percent of our kids are allowed to do the same.¹ Even playing outside in their own front or backyard is harder—91 percent of us considered unsupervised yard play normal, and only 78 percent of our kids experience that same freedom.¹
Parents seem to be more unwilling to lets kids out of their sightline these days, and when they get busy, have errands to run, chores to do, or need a rest, kids’ playtime options are limited. So where we as children roamed free while our parents tidied up, cooked dinner, or took a well-deserved nap, our kids just can’t do that. And the vacuum left by this lack of free-roaming playtime has been filled by screens.
So what can parents and families do to help their kids maintain a healthy relationship with technology? In part 2, we talk about how choices parents make can affect their kids’ digital behavior.
Nationally representative online survey of 1,403 U.S. parents of children aged 6-11 conducted by Republic Wireless; May 2018
“How Much Physical Activity Do Children Need?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. June 04, 2015. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/children/index.htm.
Kuss, Daria J., Mark D. Griffiths, and Halley M. Pontes. “DSM-5 Diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder: Some Ways Forward in Overcoming Issues and Concerns in the Gaming Studies Field.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports. June 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5520128/.
About The Study:
The Relay Bring Back Play Study was fielded online by Republic Wireless from April 27, 2018 to May 2, 2018 in partnership with Critical Mix, a global insights data provider and owner of consumer online survey panel, OneOpinion. A total of 1,403 parents of children aged 6-11 were interviewed across the US. The margin of sampling error for total respondents (N=1,403) is +2.6 percentage points.
About Critical Mix
Critical Mix creates insights that drive business decisions with easy, collaborative tools to access global target audiences, program engaging surveys and visualize results. Insights professionals around the world rely on Critical Mix’s simplified solutions to innovate and grow. Critical Mix is passionate about providing the best customer experience in the industry. Supporting every project with a dedicated, always-available team of professionals who anticipate needs and provide thoughtful customer care. The company operates globally with locations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Call us at 1-800-651-8240 or email simplify@criticalmix.com.
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/bbp_01_tn-1.jpg300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-17 14:23:392021-04-02 11:23:54Bring Back Play: Childhood is Changing
Relay is a simple, screen-free communication solution for kids. It’s safe and easy to use. It’s packed with features kids love and parents can rely on. It’s built to last through all childhood’s splashes and tumbles. And it does it all without a distracting screen. When we first released Relay in May 2018, it didn’t take long before it started turning heads—see for yourself!
“Let’s say you have kids ages 6-11…they’re too young for a smartphone. These little Relay gadgets are the absolute answer! And [kids are] not going to break it!”
“Think of Relay kind of like a walkie-talkie, only smarter … But unlike a walkie-talkie, Relay uses 4G LTE connectivity to keep you in touch with your youngster.”
“Send the kid out with one of the brightly colored, rugged, and water-resistant squares, and you can communicate with him or her through an app on your phone.”
We’re constantly working to make Relay even better—so far we’ve added brand new features, created an accessory so your Relay won’t get lost, and even opened up the Relay Channel Store. Now you can customize each of your Relays so each kid has exactly the features they need and none of the ones they don’t. Every new feature is one more way Relay can grow with your child and enable your kid to embrace their distraction-free childhood.
https://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/fox5_tn.jpg300695Victoria Senghttps://blog.relaypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/relay_blog.svgVictoria Seng2018-09-04 15:30:212021-04-02 11:24:00Relay’s in the Press: Find Out What Everyone’s Saying!
We know wheels. Since 2000, we have been reimagining the way we move with products designed for getting around town, having fun, and enjoying the outdoors. We first transformed the scooter and turned it into a global phenomenon called The Razor A Kick Scooter. Maybe you had one. Maybe your kids or grandkids do.
