Here’s how parents can navigate kids’ screen time during COVID-19

Let’s face it: we’re all spending a lot of time in front of screens and, in many cases, COVID-19 has only increased that.

It’s especially tough for working parents, who are struggling to stay focused while also looking for solutions to their children’s excessive screen time. Luckily, there are a number of useful apps and websites to help navigate digital usage.

Tech expert Mohit Rajhans recently visited The Morning Show to share his parenting hacks and online tools that can help parents avoid stress, making days more productive for families.

“It’s been interesting to see how distracting things can really be in our lives as a result of us sitting in front of screens on a daily basis and also using our phones,” he says.

One of the things Rajhans noticed while speaking to parents during the pandemic is many have complained about being distracted constantly, from shopping online to looking at news.

He points to apps and websites like Self Control that can aid in navigating a better work setup.

“Between Self Control and things like Evernote, you keep yourself more organized and dedicated to finishing the task at hand,” he says. “Then you can go on and be a better parent and a little bit more … let’s say, focused when it comes to (being) parents.”

For parents with kids who consistently use their screens and devices for entertainment purposes, Rajhans says to look into the educational side of the online world.

“Whether you’re interested in something like NASA or you’re interested in something like streaming, we can really use this opportunity now for kids to teach them how the learning happens online,” he says.

Rajhans points to a coding program NASA recently developed for kids to operate a helicopter on Mars as an example.

“That might seem boring to somebody who likes to stream all day on Twitch, but it’s really cool to learn, especially as a new skill set,” he says, adding that there’s a huge e-commerce side to platforms like Twitch and YouTube, and kids could learn how to make money while using them.

Rajhans says games and tools using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are as fun for parents as they are for kids.

“You can design your entire house right now with AR and with VR. Imagine you can download an app and wear your phone with a game system,” he says.

“You can put yourself in a situation where it’s not only fun (and) entertaining but you can actually see what furniture looks like from places like IKEA.”

Rajhans also advises parents to not be afraid to step their own skills up, like watching DIY videos on YouTube to learn a new skill.

“I speak to dads all the time about really learning what their kids are doing in the digital world in order for them to feel more secure (and) what they can do with it, and together the efficiency will occur.”

Watch Rajhans’ full interview with ‘The Morning Show’ in the video above.