Screens top worry for parents: survey
KIWI parents feel like they are not spending enough time with their kids and parenting expert Nathan Wallis says they probably aren’t.
The nib State Of The Nation Parenting Survey, which canvassed 1200 parents from around New Zealand, revealed 76 per cent worried about the amount of time they could spend with their children.
Wallis, a neuroscience educator and child development expert, was unsurprised, as more and more parents were working fulltime.
Grey Lynn parent Kate Slavin and her husband of 10 years have two boys, aged 3 and 6, and they spend time as a family during evenings and weekends.
It was tough returning to fulltime work after her first son. ‘‘I love what I do but I felt heartbroken leaving him all day.’’
The years she spent as a fulltime mum created a good foundation for their family, which allowed her to return to work and take time with the family where work allowed it. ‘‘I like the idea that the boys see both mum and dad working really hard.’’
Lack of quality family time was detrimental to children and adults, Wallis said.
‘‘It’s no surprise we have skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression and suicide in our teenagers because I don’t think as a society we are looking after our kids very well, putting them in institutions early . . . getting both of our parents to go to work, we’re far more concerned about the economy than the quality of a child’s life.’’
Wallis said the problem was one for politicians, rather than individuals, to solve.
‘‘I’m not challenging the individual parent who is going ‘I’ve got a mortgage, and we live in Aranui, and even on our minimum wage we still need two people to work’, I get that reality.’’
Slavin said it wasn’t about the amount of time spent with her kids but the quality.
‘‘Half an hour of a super fun/ attentive parent still builds strong bonds and quality memories. Or if not at night, then at the breakfast table.’’
Other pressures highlighted in the survey included paying for new technology, birthday parties and holidays with 16 per cent of parents reporting they spent ‘‘a lot more than was affordable’’.
‘It’s no surprise we have skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression.’ PARENTING EXPERT NATHAN WALLIS
In the survey, 45 per cent of parents were ‘‘extremely concerned’’ or ‘‘very concerned’’ about the impact of social media.
The use of technology and the impact of screen time was also a big concern with 37 per cent extremely or moderately worried.
In the last 18 months, research had established a clear correlation between the amount of screen time teenagers got and their vulnerability to depression and anxiety, Wallis said.
He suggested parents insist on a two-hour device free period each day, ideally between 5 and 7pm while the family had dinner together.
The nib State Of The Nation Parenting Survey was conducted by Nielsen. Stuff contributed to aspects of the survey questions. CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF