Most parents feel a certain sense of guilt when they give their child a tablet or smartphone. We’ve all read the stories and studies about stunted social development, reduced attention spans, and many other dangers that kids face when they have a screen in front of them.

Are we perhaps overlooking the positive effect that screen time can have on learners, though? Some professionals feel that the reservations we have about giving our children phones are overblown and that mobile devices can become tools to encourage creativity. 

That’s what we’re going to discuss in this article. Read on to learn more. 

Turning Digital Learning Into Digital Play

If you have children who enjoy shows like Curious George, Wild Kratts, Daniel Tiger, and Sesame Street, it will be relatively easy to make digital learning for them both educational and entertaining. OBS has a variety of kids’ apps that aim to fulfill this exact desire. 

Additionally, Toca Boca has more quirky apps that focus more on exploration than on gameplay. They allow your children to play around in environments like offices, farms, and hospitals. The Toca Labs app even lets them conduct science experiments and grow plants. 

Even when your children aren’t learning letters and numbers, online video games require active participation instead of passive consumption. They develop problem-solving skills and improve hand-eye coordination, which is much more beneficial than watching cartoons. 

Encouraging Creativity

The right digital tools and activities can help inspire creativity in your child. If you feel that your kid is a budding artist, there are plenty of YouTube channels that focus on drawing tutorials for children. 

There are many experiences and activities to be learned from YouTube, like magic tricks, karate classes, dance lessons, and even jokes. Other than YouTube, there are plenty of other apps and websites that are made to support creative children.

Helping Your Kids Connect With Others

While your younger children probably aren’t ready to have their own accounts on social media, they can still use devices to be social. Mobile devices can connect children to the people that are important to them, so you should try to use their screen time to build meaningful relationships. 

If aunts, uncles, or grandparents live outside of town, you could schedule some time to use Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts to let your kids speak to them face-to-face. This is also an excellent opportunity to teach them how to have conversations over the phone or even teach them to type out their own texts. 

Some apps allow traveling parents to stay connected with their children and even participate in bedtime stories. Even if it’s just for a few days, being away from your kids is difficult, so these apps can be lifesavers. 

Concluding Thoughts

You should try to put your fears of screen time for your kids aside and embrace the positives that mobile devices bring to the table. They can be used as excellent tools for inspiring creativity in your young ones.