‘As long as my children go to school and play sports, I see no harm in gaming’

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Sure there is sometimes a fuss about screens, but most mothers are secretly overjoyed that these things exist. So is Fatima (34), mother of Senne (6) and Samira (2).

“My parents used to always have the TV on and screen time didn’t exist, even though there were no smartphones or tablets. Since the age of two, Senne has been immensely fascinated by all things electronic gadgets; from our phones and laptops to the lights on the oven and dishwasher.

screen time

I’ve never set a clear limit on how long he can watch screens. He went to nursery all day and later to school, has been playing with friends every day since he was four; he doesn’t have that much time left for paw patrol or animal videos.

On Fridays, my husband and he always play a game of Fifa on the Xbox. If Senne also wants to do that with a boyfriend during the week, that’s fine with me. Sometimes I’m glad I have my hands free for Samira. She shows no interest at all in my phone and only watches the TV for fifteen minutes with her brother.

Also read – ‘This is why gaming isn’t just bad for kids’ >

Let’s play

I don’t know if I’ll ever tighten the rules. If it’s out of the scuppers, maybe, but when is that? As long as they go to school and daycare during the week, play sports at the weekend and also play outside, I see no harm in chilling out. There are still a lot of educational videos out there; thanks to Minecraft, my sister’s ten-year-old children are fluent in English.”

This article can be found in Kek Mama 07-2022.

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