Junior School, South Plympton

Reflections for Families; Screen Time and Quality Family Time

Following on from our Cyber Safety Presentation with Dr Susan McLean, it is helpful and important that we consider the following:

• Adopt a family policy that highlights the amount of screen time your family has daily/weekly and ensure screens are always in a shared space.
• Monitor the games/apps that your child is playing – is it appropriate for their age? Who are they playing with? What is the recommended age that reviews suggest? 
• Model appropriate use of technology ourselves – think about how much time you spend on your phone around your children, what gaming do your children see you engage with? Is it appropriate for them to be even seeing glimpses of more adult appropriate images in the games you play? 

Think about quality time with your family…what does it look like for you? 

Do you spend time together – engaging in exercise, relaxation, outside time, church fellowship, social interactions, events/holidays? 

• Have your family got the balance right? 
• How do you cater for all the needs of your family? Little ones, teenagers, adults? 

It is always good to rethink and rejuggle these elements each year, even each term, as commitments change.

During our Parent Teacher Interviews we discussed the importance of 1:1 time with individual members of our families – parents, Dad and child, Mum and child, each of the siblings. This can be challenging in our hectic weekly schedules, however, time invested in relationships will set a wonderful foundation for tricky times in the years ahead. 

Family devotion time can provide a wonderful opportunity to share thoughts, build family culture and unpack Bible verses and stories, helping children share and grow their own personal faith in our Lord Jesus.

In our Junior Primary classrooms, we encourage children to bring home experiences into school. The Year 1/2 classes are engaging in Science experiments, water walks and adventures with a toy seagull, dolphin or dog. These well-loved creatures have had trips to the beach, karate, shopping, swimming lessons and even McDonalds! What an amazing opportunity to spend special time with your child as part of their homework! The children are writing about their experiences and I am sure families are helping the students to remember and record their adventures together. 

Quality time spent with our families need to always be a top priority. Our children need us as mentors and coaches, to help navigate their way through life. 

As a College, we appreciate partnering with our families, to help and guide our students in their faith and to help them develop a healthy life balance, juggling the demands of school, family and life in general. We want our students to always put relationships above all else, as we do life together.

Lots to think about! 

My prayer is that you have opportunities to think through these ideas, discuss and shape what your own family culture is all about together…