How to reduce your child's screen time

Everybody knows what it’s like to be on their phones all day. We have all been asked by Netflix, “Are you still there?” only to begrudgingly note yes, we are...and we have been for the last three hours. Technology has become so convenient and addictive that it’s hard to resist the digital screen.   There’s nothing wrong with peppering our days with some screen time. Dr. David Anderson, a clinical psychologist and the senior director of National Programmes and Outreach at the Child Mind Institute, said, "[S]mall doses of screen time can be a mental health-positive way of relaxing, reducing stress, and connecting socially to friends and family members.” However, the keywords are “small doses,” and it can be easy to pour too much screen time into our day. As with all things, moderation is key. We can benefit from our screens, but we can also benefit from turning them off. This is particularly important for children as they are still developing physically and mentally.   The Seattle Children’s Research Institute noted that children between the ages of 10 and 16 now spend 10.4 of their waking hours with minimal movement. They would rather go online than go outside, which can result in lethargy and health problems. JAMA Pediatrics released a study in 2019 that linked excessive TV and video game consumption to lower academic performance in children between four and eighteen years of age. Because of the constant stimulation from technology, children, like adults, can get easily distracted, lose their ability to focus, and disrupt their natural sleep cycle.   To prevent or rectify these problems, how can parents like yourself limit screen time for your child? Fight Apps with Apps What? You should use the screen in order to limit the use of the screen? Yes, you can combat technology with technology! Apps like Offtime show how long you spend on various apps and how many times you unlock your phone. Seeing the stats can be the eye-opener that your child needs, especially if they see that they spent a total of three full days on social media or games! Other apps can encourage taking breaks from your phone. The app Forest displays a growing tree for however long the phone remains unused. Encourage your child to give these apps a try! Set Some Ground Rules You can also set rules for when or how much your child uses their gadgets. Common Sense’s nationwide survey revealed that 68% of teenagers take devices to bed, and a third of that number actually sleep in bed with them. Consider keeping your child's devices out of reach from a certain time before bedtime to after they wake up. The blue light from screens can affect the sleep-wake cycle, so by removing this, they will sleep better and awaken refreshed and prepared for the day ahead. You could also limit TV time, place restrictions on streaming services, or require homework completion before gaming. Eventually, your child might enforce these habits themselves. Make It a Team Effort Get the whole family involved and maybe even make a fun game of it. For example, give a prize to whoever can last the longest without a device. Make this a team effort, so your child doesn’t feel like they’re the only ones struggling to disconnect; rather, you’re all in this together. Whether you make this a family venture or not, you can set an example as a parent. Be present with your child, put aside your devices as often as you can. If your child is having a hard time reducing their screen time, seeing you thrive, and experiencing the benefits secondhand may inspire them to follow suit. Doing this together may create even better results! Create Quality Time and Experiences Try to spend quality time and create memories with your family to replace the instant gratification of technology. A lot of technology usage can derive from feelings of loneliness, but it actually doesn’t help. When you are with your child, give them your full attention. They may feel less of a need for technology and more appreciation for face-to-face connections. Plan family nights so your child will have too much fun playing board games or cooking together to even notice there’s no screen! You can also sign them up for fun activities, like an art class or sports camp, that will spark their imagination, encourage movement, and create special memories. - There’s a lot to be grateful for regarding technology. We can talk to family members in other countries and learn digitally through sites like Skillshare or programmes like JEI Remote Learning. But there’s a lot to be grateful for outside of technology, too, so consider reducing your child’s screen time through the tips mentioned above. This is the perfect opportunity to challenge your child to go completely screen-free for as long as they can. With these tips, we hope your child will be able to experience an increase in focus, stronger connections, more exercise, and better sleep. We at JEI Learning Centre believe your child can accomplish this and much more, so even if you’re starting late, take the pledge today!

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Activities for children who love (or hate) math

There are some children who love everything about math and numbers! Look at Katherine Johnson, former NASA mathematician, who earned the title The Girl Who Loved to Count because she counted everything she could since she was little. Whether your child is another Katherine Johnson or not as big of a numbers lover, there are a couple activities every child is sure to enjoy. These games ask for your child to exercise their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, but in such a way as to make it enjoyable for everyone! After trying these activities, they might stop saying, “I’m not good at math,” and start saying, “Math is fun!” Sudoku A popular numbers game, Sudoku asks that each box, vertical line, and horizontal line of 9 squares each consists of the numbers 1 to 9 in any order. Each number will be used once, and there are a variety of levels so this task can go from relaxing to challenging based on your child’s mood and level of critical thinking. Sudoku asks your child to use their logic skills to see how this number puzzle fits together. What strategies will they discover?   You can find printables here!   Nonograms Also known as Paint by Numbers, Nonograms provide you with a grid. Each row and column has numbers that tell you how many boxes in a row should be shaded. For example, if one row has the numbers 2 and 8, that would mean that anywhere in that row, there should be 2 shaded boxes in a row followed later by 8 shaded boxes in a row. It is the same for columns, usually resulting in one complete picture like pixel art. Your child will have to think of strategies to get to that end result! You can find printables here! Hidato Another logic puzzle, Hidato asks your child to connect consecutive numbers from 1 to however many spaces are provided. The board can take any shape or form, but fills in a few of the boxes with numbers. Then, much like connecting the dots, your child fills in the empty spaces with consecutive numbers to get to the next one. For example, Hidato may start with 1 and the next number given in another space is 5, so your child has to fill in the boxes from 2 to 4 until they reach that 5. Your child has to make sure they fill in the right boxes, and this could involve some trial and error. You can play Hidato here! 2048 2048 is a popular game online! It requires your child to slide around boxes that, upon collision, will add up if they are the same number. For example, if you collide an 8 with another 8, that will add up to 16, which has to collide with another 16 to get to 32, and so on. The end game is to get to the number 2048 without filling up the space with unusable boxes. There is limited room for movement for sliding and colliding, so your child has to test out the best way to get to 2048! You can play 2048 here! Kakuro A little more complex, Kakuro can test out your child’s adding skills! The purpose is to fill in the grids so two numbers in a row or column add up to whatever the number outside of the grids dictates. For example, if the row wants the sum of 24, that means the two numbers in the row have to add up to 24, and if the column wants the sum of 12, the two numbers in that column need to add up to 12. This means that one of those numbers will have to add up to both 24 and 12. This one will be a bit more math heavy! You can play Kakuro here! Whether your child loves or hates numbers, these logic puzzles are so fun and engaging that everyone will put on their thinking caps and have a great time! If your child struggles with some levels or wants to keep advancing, they should continue working on their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. JEI Learning Centre can help! We have a programme, Brain Safari, that specializes specifically in this area. It uses word problems, math, and puzzles to engage your child’s creative mind and logical thinking, so they can excel at whatever they set their mind on. Contact a centre near you today to ask them about our Brain Safari programme!

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Why is it okay to be bad at math?

“I’m bad at maths.” It’s something we hear all the time. Often, it’s greeted with knowing smiles and laughs. However, “I’m bad at reading” does not meet such a warm reception. Why is it that we treat literacy as a vital skill that can be worked on while we treat numeracy as a quaint talent that is innate?   History of Writing Numbers   Although the origins of speech and counting remain relatively unknown, writing of both letters and numbers emerged around the 4th millennium BCE. In ancient Sumer around 3100 BCE, there were dozens of local, incompatible number systems for counting specific things–objects, grain, weights, etc.   For the most part, written language and written numbers were largely the province of large ancient institutions–temples, palaces, etc.–which handled things like long-distance trade, taxation, and sacred offerings. The average peasant, largely self-sufficient and rarely interacting with markets, had little need for writing, linguistic or numerical.   It wasn’t until the dawn of capitalism that numeracy became a requirement for the average person. Prior to capitalism, the average person had little interaction with markets. Peasants made the food they ate, the clothes they wore, and anything else that they needed for their daily lives. The idea of having a job that provided an income that you would then have to budget was completely anathema to most people prior to capitalism. With capitalism came specialisation. Individuals did a particular job for an income that they could spend on the products of the labor of others. Increasingly, individuals made little of what they used in the home, opting to buy instead. This requires not only addition and subtraction to account for individual transactions, but also multiplication and division to calculate income and expenditure over the long run.   The Mathematics of Daily Life   Dr. Leah Saal and her research team at Loyola University, Maryland have been studying the impact of numeracy skills on employability. In a paper presented at the 2018 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies research conference, Saal and her team demonstrated that numeracy skills were predictive of having no experience with paid work or being long-term unemployed. They also found that these effects were amplified for marginalised groups such as women, older adults, and racial or ethnic minorities.   According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly one-third of adults in the U.S. have weak numeracy skills. To combat this, Saal and her team recommend a number of policies aimed at improving adult education. Among these recommendations are adding numeracy programming to workforce development curricula and making “low levels of numeracy” an identified employment barrier under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act the way that “low levels of literacy” is.   Numeracy Skills Start Young   While it’s good to acquire numeracy skills at any age, starting early saves on catch up time and lost employability. A 2010 study showed that early numeracy demonstrated in kindergarten predicts performance in first-grade math. Another study found similar results in home and preschool numeracy development’s effect on 3rd-grade performance. Yet another found that preschool numeracy has positive impacts throughout primary school. The research tells us that developing literacy early is paramount to lifetime success.   Given that nearly one-third of adults in the US lack numeracy skills, it’s apparent that the school system alone is insufficient for ensuring numeracy. JEI’s Maths programme, as well as our more advanced Problem Solving Maths enrichment programme, can set your child up for a future of numeracy and all the benefits that come with it.   To get your child started, find a JEI Learning Centre near you!

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