Victoria’s top kindergarten teacher says children too busy in front of screens

PRESCHOOLERS are too busy and need more old-fashioned play and communication, says Victoria’s top kindergarten teacher.

PRESCHOOLERS are too busy and need more old-fashioned play and communication, says Victoria’s top kindergarten teacher.

The effects of too much “screen time” and too little physical activity are seen in preschools, according to the Early Childhood Teacher of the Year, Meagan Hull.

Having spent almost three decades working in kindergartens, she has witnessed gradual changes in young kids, including a decline in social skills.

She encourages parents to go back to basics, by cutting back on expensive lessons and apps, and focusing on “quality family time”.

“We are seeing children who are spending less time outdoors and more time in front of screens and being incredibly busy,” said Ms Hull, who was honoured at this month’s Victorian Early Years Awards.

“They are less able to use their imagination and create their own play. And they are less able to self-regulate and wait. They are wanting that instant gratification (they get from devices).”

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Meagan Hull has won award an award for being Victoria's best kindergarten teacher. Picture: Jason Edwards

The result is that some children are slower to develop physical and social skills, said Ms Hull, who manages Bentons Square Kindergarten in Mornington.

Ms Hull — herself a mum — said she did not want to be seen to be “preaching to parents ...(because) parenting is a tough gig and everyone is trying to provide the best for their children”.

But she believes a back-to-basics approach to child-rearing would benefit kids, and even save parents money.

Ms Hull said face-to-face conversation, time outdoors and “unstructured play” — free of formal lessons and activities — should be high priorities for mums and dads.

“Children just need time to be ... and I don’t mean being behind a screen,” Ms Hull said.

She said parents should not underestimate the value of simply talking with their kids, reading to them, and “getting them to notice the world around them”.

“There’s rich learning going on with that interaction between parents and children,” Ms Hull said.

Meagan Hull with Kaylah, 4, and Declan, 4. Picture: Jason Edwards

MEAGAN’S TIPS

■ Talk, talk, talk. Conversing with your children is one of the best ways to develop their language, literacy and social skills.

■ Read with your children for at least five minutes a night.

■ Have 15 minutes a day of quality time with your children — play a board game, bake a cake, jump on the trampoline together, play a game of hide-and-seek.

■ Make plenty of time in your children’s week for unstructured play.

■ Sit at the dinner table together, with TVs and screens off, at least a couple of times a week.

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