6 Ways Your Babysitter Can Have Productive Screen Time With Your Kids

By Alicia Geigel on November 12, 2022

In today’s day and age, a number of young children seem to be addicted to screen time and born with a smart device glued to their hand or face. While the presence of technology in a child’s life should not be looked down upon, it can often be overused, which can cause a number of problems for both the child and you, the parent.

When you are away from the house at work, running errands, or a leisurely lunch, managing your child’s screen time is a lot harder, as you are not immediately around to control what they can and cannot do. With a babysitter around, managing screen time and encouraging screen time to be productive can be both easy and effective.

If you’re a parent looking for better ways to make screen time more productive for your children with the help of a babysitter, try these six tips to get you started!

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1. Utilize Educational Apps: Not all screen time should be measured equally, and some screen time can definitely be better than others. Productive screen time can come in many forms, including educational apps. Depending on the age range of your child, your babysitter can utilize educational apps to at least make their time on a smart device purposeful. For toddlers and younger children, apps that focus on shapes, colors, animals, etc., are a good start. For older children, there are countless apps that have activities based on school subjects like math, English, art, history, science, etc. Encourage your babysitter to use these apps with your children and pick activities based on their favorite subjects.

2. Explore Engaging Workout Videos: We mostly associate screen time with being sedentary and still, but your babysitter can actually have productive screen time with your kids by watching and engaging with kid-friendly workout videos. In terms of these types of videos, Youtube is your oyster! There are countless Youtube channels dedicated to light exercise videos that are fun for kids. For example, Cosmic Kids Yoga uses simple yoga moves with unique themed backgrounds to keep kids active and tuned in. Pancake Manor, another Youtube Channel, has songs and silly dancing to make both kids and adults move!

3. Have Fun With Music Apps: Education does not have to be limited to textbook subjects like history, English, math, etc. Rather, it can also include “fun” subjects like art and even music! There are a handful of music apps out there that are equally as engaging as they are educational. Many apps allow for users to create their own songs with instruments like the piano, guitar, and drums, learn about music notes and beats, and play games that help them learn about pitches, sounds, melodies, etc. Allow your babysitter to play musical games and apps with your kids, and you won’t regret seeing the joy and excitement on their faces!

4. Use Smart Devices to Communicate: If you lean more towards limiting your child’s screen time on a stricter level, one simple and productive way that they can utilize screen time is by simply using it as a tool for communication. Between FaceTime, Google Duo, Skype, Zoom, etc., there are countless video conferencing and chatting services, making it easier than ever to see and talk to someone despite being separated by distance. While you’re at work or perhaps a night on the town, have your babysitter assist your kids in making a phone call to you. At the very least, they can talk to you for a few moments, and perhaps even gain some knowledge of technology in the long run.

5. Reserve Screen Time for a Different Activity: Taking screen time away totally is a hassle, so why not find a compromise and reserve it for something special like watching a movie or an episode of a TV show? Doing so can directly involve your babysitter, which helps to better monitor what your child is doing, and also places a limit on the amount of time the screen is on. The babysitter can make the movie-watching event particularly fun by setting up a fort of blankets and pillows in front of the TV and including snacks like popcorn and juice for that special experience.

6. Limit Screen Time with a Tracking App: For peace of mind, you can always download a screen-time tracking app to monitor the exact amount of time your kids spend on a device. While you want to be completely trusting of your babysitter, this extra layer of monitoring can give you an insight into not only the screen usage but the type of activities and games your children like to play.

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Image via Pexels

Managing your children’s screen time when you’re not around can be a hassle at first. To help make their screen time more productive with your babysitter, recommend a handful of apps and ideas to make the process smooth for the two of you.

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