Summer Holidays: This year- no TV!

 The lazy days of summer holidays are upon us. Mums all around me were so relieved that I wondered if they would really think me mad if I said what was in my mind. I hate summer holidays. There, I've said it.
I remember being a child in a small town near Kolkata, where summer holidays meant climbing trees, picking raw mangoes, eating them with cousins, hiding from respective mothers. Scalding hot summer afternoons would be spent messing ourselves up in the garden, visiting cousins or best friends houses, and unending pages of Math practice and handwriting practice, both Bangla and English.
We did not have TV. Sometimes, on Sunday afternoons the Radio would throw up some English songs which would be our only source of western music.
Only now, it is 8 weeks of TV and iPads, constant fights with the 7 year old over screen time, struggling to get them to do anything close to writing. Forget trees, where are the gardens any more. The square bit of sky from the window suffices, that too because our apartment happens to face clear horizons instead of another set of houses.
Now I hate summer holidays and there is good reason for it. Some research goes into the effect of screen time on children in the west, but in India such studies are rarely done. Even in the west, most studies are never known by the wider public, the media being what it is.
Recently one article scared me out of my wits. While I am not one to go blindly by "research" and "studies show...", still my gut says it cant be wrong. Let me quote some salient points from the article in www.telegraph.co.uk.
"Melatonin is the hormone we all need to sleep well. Researchers recently found that when a group of six to 12 year-olds had their screen time reduced their melatonin production increased by 30 per cent. In animals low levels of melatonin results in early-onset puberty (Salti et al, 2006). Consequently doctors think that combined with greater body mass, this may explain why so many girls are reaching puberty earlier than in the 1950s.

Adolescent boys with screen time of two or more hours per day have twice the risk of abnormal levels of insulin associated with type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than boys exposed to less screen time (Hardy et al, 2010).

The average 10 year-old’s arm strength has dropped by 26 per cent in the last 10 years and the ability to do sit-ups has fallen by 27 per cent.

The Department of Health at Cornell University has found that reducing a child’s screen time makes them more physically active without the parent needing to do anything else to replace it.

“Just nine minutes of viewing a fast-paced television cartoon had immediate negative effects on a four-year-olds executive function,” experts writing for the Paediatrics journal found, which includes memory, problem-solving and empathy.

A 26-year-old study tracking children from birth has concluded: “Television viewing in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor educational achievement by 26 years of age. Early exposure to television may have long lasting adverse consequences for educational achievement and later socio-economic status and well-being.” (Hancox et al, 2005)"

How much TV is too much? Studies show that below the age of 3 no screen time is good. That includes even iPads. Parents nowadays think that if small children dont use new technology they will fall behind. That is not true, as repeated studies have showed. Screen time only leads to increased instances of reduced attention and even ADHD.
Other ages have it easier.

3-7 years: 0.5-1 hour

7-12 years: 1 hour

12-15 years: 1.5

16+: 2 hours

I must say my 7 year old has watched more TV than 1 hour many a day and I am guilty of not getting her off either TV or iPad. Isnt it rather easy to just ask the child to go play with the iPad rather than do something with them? Which is why I hate summer.

But here is the lowdown. You dont always need to DO anything. Remember our childhood? Our parents didnt spend summer afternoons with us! We spent it on our own and enjoyed every moment of it. Leaving a child alone, and banning the TV and hiding the other screens work. They will find something to do. And yes, there will be many more moans of "Im really BORED, mamma" but here's one more thing to make you a happy parent. Being bored is actually GOOD for children.

Here's one more bombshell... not studying during the long holidays are actually harmful for the child. The most effect is seen in language and math skills. A long hiatus from language and mathematics can cause children to devolve in their learning. Parents will notice that after a long break children struggle with their lessons and have to spend a lot of time getting back on track where they left off. 

I myself am a firm believer of routines and summer learning but many parents will not agree with me. For them summer is all about fun, and making kids work even through these two short months is tantamount to torture. But hear me out. There can be a happy medium.

Here is a list I have made for the little monkey to not while away her whole 8 weeks. I have done much more but that is for another post. Here let me list down what I thought would be necessary to let her have her share of fun and not fall back in acads at the same time.

Create a reading list: A local library is the best bet. But in a locality like mine, there are none. So I have become a member of British Council Library which has a nice booklist. I have plenty of books inhouse, so reading lists are not a problem. I have also thrown open the house to all local book loving kids to come and enjoy some reading down time in the afternoons. Check with other mums for a read-date. Chances are many mums are waiting for such a thing to happen. Summer reading lists can be downloaded dime a dozen from the internet, for all ages. 

Read together: Example is the best way to teach. From newspapers to appropriate magazine articles to story books, everything goes. Read in front of the child. If they see you watch TV they will learn to watch TV. If they see you read, it is bound to rub off on them somehow,

Make time for art: A card for grandfather? Let them have a go at it.  That is how artists are born! 

Hobby classes: Lets rephrase that... Meaningful hobby classes. There are so many out there that you would think they are waiting to catch us unawares with our money. Summer classes can be educative AND fun. If they like craft, there are plenty of craft summer classes. Maybe the little scientist could do with a robotics class. Or dance workshops can be fun and may become a regular hobby after summers over.

Sneak in writing: The best way to have them write without the complaints, is a journal. A colourful scrapbook can become a summer journal. I asked my daughter to do what she pleased with it, stick leaves, bird feathers, pictures, write about what came to her mind. 

Sneak in learning: Going shopping? While a five year old can learn about notes and coins and weights much more interestingly than in a classroom, a seven year old (or above) can actually count up change and tally the bill. Helping in the kitchen can be a wonderful way to teach measurements and (hold your breath) chemistry. A museum visit can be fun and educational. Parks can be a great place to learn about geology or botany.

The great outdoors: Great minds all agree that travel teaches more to a child that a classroom ever will. Summer holidays is a great time to go travelling. Even if it is grandma's house. An older child may even be left with grandparents for a period of time. We  have not forgotten how important it is to have grandparents in a child's life. What better time than uninterrupted lazy summer to have the two generations have fun together.

Summer is also a great time to teach kids a new non-classroom based skill. Swimming, cycling, playing a new game in the weekends, can all be great fun and good way to exercise for both parent and child. Bonding is an added bonus.

Board games that help: I recently bought my 7 year old a world map and India map puzzle. She has been having great fun with it and now she knows about countries and their attractions, even their flags. Age appropriate board games can eat up hours on summer afternoons. Time for a little snooze, mums?

Good TV instead of bad TV: If they have one hour of TV time, they can watch mindless cartoons or they can sit with you and watch Discovery Channel. Its a choice, and children, believe it or not, gets used to not watching cartoons. Mister Maker is just as good for them. My daughter has so gotten over Chhota Bheem since I have blocked the channel on my TV!

So this year, plan some trips, go to grandma's, do the usual museum-park-movies circuit, but also, let the children play on their own. Let them devise ways to entertain themselves, let them scribble and paint on walls, let them stare out into the open feeling deathly bored, let them read. But never be afraid of banning TV beyond their stipulated time and do, do lock away the iPads.