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News24
3 hours ago
- Health
- News24
Rethinking screen time: Are we modelling healthy habits for our kids?
Noel Hendrickson, Getty Images South Africans rank among the highest in global screen time usage, with adults averaging nearly 10 hours daily on devices, raising concerns about the impact on children observing these habits. Experts warn of the mental, emotional, and physical risks excessive screen time poses, from anxiety to poor academic performance. By making small lifestyle changes, such as having device-free family time and using built-in screen-time tools, parents can lead by example and promote a healthier, more balanced approach to technology. South Africa has earned a dubious distinction: its citizens spend more time glued to screens than most other nations. With the average South African adult devoting a staggering nine hours and 37 minutes daily to smartphones, nearly a third of their waking hours, it's clear we're in the grip of a digital addiction. But as parents scroll through social media (which alone consumes 22% of daily usage), what lessons are we teaching our children about healthy technology use? The disturbing cost of screen obsession The SA Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) warns that our screen addiction is fuelling a mental health crisis among young people. The statistics paint a troubling picture: - Adolescents spending more than five hours daily on devices are 70% more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those with less than an hour of screen time. - Even moderate use (four to six hours) increases risks of anxiety and depression compared to peers with just two hours less exposure. - Studies across 14 countries found cellphones consistently disrupt learning - with notifications alone requiring up to 20 minutes for children to refocus. Psychiatrist Professor Renata Schoeman explains the ripple effects: Excessive screen time links to depression, anxiety, poor sleep, declining academic performance, social withdrawal, and exposure to harmful content like cyberbullying or eating disorder promotion. Physical consequences include obesity, eye strain, and poor posture. Parents' confessions: Holding a mirror to our habits Before reading SASOP's findings, I started to think about what my phone usage looks like to my four-year-old after she chastised her father for always being on his phone. After reading SASOP's warning, I wondered about my own usage stats. According to the dashboard in my device's Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls centre, I spend four to five hours on my phone daily. Screenshot Screenshot Screenshot I contacted other South African parents about their screen habits for this piece. Here's what they shared: Khaya (8h25m): Acknowledges work demands that necessitate usage but vows to be more present. Tinashe (eight to 10 hours): Admits his daughter associates him with his computer. Marilynn (5h45m): Calls her usage 'excessive' and feels guilty. Iavan (5h50m): Justifies nighttime scrolling as 'downtime'. Lerato (7h40m): Shares devices with kids watching YouTube. Hein (10h20m): Acknowledges that his screen time doesn't set a healthy example. Their honesty reminds me of an uncomfortable truth: children learn by observation. 'I don't think it's the healthiest example because my daughter associates me with my computer a lot, however I do try and manage her screen time and encourage breaks for outdoor time or other activities. Sometimes I'll switch everything off and leave music in the background,' says Tinashe. Lerato's screen time. As Schoeman notes: 'We cannot expect children to moderate screen time when they see adults constantly glued to phones.' Practical tools for change The solution isn't shaming ourselves and others or abandoning screens but finding balance. Both Apple and Android devices offer built-in tools: - Screen Time Tracking (iOS/Android): Shows daily/weekly usage per app. - App Limits: Set daily caps on usage for specific apps. - Downtime/Focus Mode: Blocks non-essential apps during set hours. - Bedtime Mode: Silences notifications and grays out screens. - Do Not Disturb: Pauses alerts during family time or work. Schoeman also recommends: - No screens under age two; less than one hour for ages two to five; less than two hours for older kids. - Device-free meals and bedrooms. - Modelling breaks and offline activities. - Overnight device custody for teens. Small changes, big impact As Lerato discovered, simple swaps, like outdoor chores with kids, can reshape family habits. Reflecting on her goals, Marilynn says: 'Ideally, I'd like to take that number down to two hours or so. With all the research around the negative impacts of increased screen time, I feel quite guilty that I'm not setting a better example and do hope to do better.' 'Children don't need perfection,' reminds Schoeman, 'they need consistency.' Putting phones away at dinner or disabling notifications during homework sends powerful messages. With South Africa's screen stats among the world's highest, I find it ironic that we must not forget that our children are watching (us). The question of what our solution to the crisis highlighted by SASOP isn't just about their screen time but ours, too. As the parents, we spoke to demonstrate that awareness is the first step toward change. What will your screen time teach your child today? - To check your screen time on an Android device, open your settings and scroll to Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls or a similar setting. You can find your screen time report on an Apple device in your control centre.
The Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Time to go back to the drawing board on early childhood education
What type of society is this? What have our priorities been for the past 30 years, especially in the education sector? Where have we been? Social scientists and educational psychologists opine that the human brain is the last organ to develop to its fullest potential. Research indicates that it takes 20 years for the brain to get to the point where it is fully developed, meaning that the work that is done to develop the child from adolescence to early adulthood is of vital importance to engender a culture of meaning, purpose and ultimately a drive to succeed. If you miss it then, forget about the potential you will derive from the adult who has been neglected from the early years. Is it surprising that we have the challenges that we face in SA? Rising crime rates, homelessness, unemployment and general helplessness have come to define the experiences of many in our society. The question we ought to ask is what is being done to instill the right focus on early education to ensure we have better results in the future. This is not only about demonstrating how we benchmark ourselves against other nations on literacy and education. It's also about fulfilling an agenda set by the June 16 generation to create a country and a people that will hold their heads high and take their rightful place among the community of nations. A key challenge that most researchers point to is the absence of cognitive attention among our children at the age they are when they take these tests. This refers to the slow cognitive development experienced by a majority of our children in that age group. Studies such as the University of Pretoria's point to a lack of teaching skills among educators who teach at those levels, the absence of parental involvement in the education of their children and other socioeconomic challenges as the major causes of these challenges. My own assessment is that we generally don't have a vision as a country when it comes to defining the society that we want. SA's budget for basic education far exceeds that of many developing nations that face similar challenges. The results, however, are far short of those achieved in some of those countries.
The Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Bana Pele Roadmap to ensure one-million kids access quality ECD programmes by 2030
SA has set a bold and urgent goal: by 2030, every child aged three to five should be able to access a quality early childhood development (ECD) programme. This vision, outlined in the department of basic education's 2030 Bana Pele Roadmap, is about more than expanding services. It's about changing how we work together to give every child, especially the most vulnerable, the strong start they deserve. After all, Bana Pele means 'putting children first'. The 2030 roadmap was recently endorsed by leaders from government, business, and civil society at the Bana Pele Leadership Summit, which marked a clear mindset shift from fragmented programmes to co-ordinated action and from ambition to accountability. More than one million children between the ages of three and five do not attend any early learning programme, and only four out of ten are developmentally on track by age five. Without a strong foundation, many of these children begin school on the back foot, and some never catch up. To break this cycle, the roadmap outlines four collective commitments to expand access to an additional 200,000 children per year, reaching 1-million more by 2030. These are: putting children at the centre, working better together, funding smarter and raising the bar on quality. Every decision should begin with one question: Is this good for children? That means prioritising those who are most at risk of being left behind, breaking down the barriers that limit access, and creating safe, nurturing spaces where they can learn and thrive. It also means investing in the people who deliver ECD. SA's ECD workforce is on the frontlines of child development, employing more than 200,000 people, mostly Black women. Reaching the 2030 access target could double this number. Their contribution must be recognised through proper training and support. The Roadmap sets a target for 50% of principals and practitioners at registered programmes to complete accredited training and leadership development by 2030.
The Herald
4 hours ago
- General
- The Herald
Children need rich, multifaceted teaching in their mother tongues to master literacy and learning
Learning literacy in mother tongues is the foundation for all learning. It makes sense for all children to begin learning in languages they are familiar with, so they can participate and engage in their learning more actively than they do when learning in unfamiliar tongues. In SA, many children start learning to read and write in their home languages from grades 1 to 3. As the children learn to read and write, they also need to have access to nurturing experiences with storytelling, reading and writing, arts (visual and performative) and text analysis. They also need access to books, libraries and reading role models who are family members at home, in the community and at school. Before 2025, many African language speaking learners experienced mother tongue education only in the foundation phase. When they reached grade 4, these learners had to switch to learning everything in English. This restriction of African languages to one or two periods a day in the intermediate phase, in particular, puts limitations on language and literacy practices that should continue to take place across the curriculum. This transition to English also put limitations on the number of published books in African languages that children can access. With the incremental implementation of mother tongue-based bilingual education starting in grade 4, African language learners will now also have access to African languages as they begin learning science and maths bilingually. This calls for a large production of learning and teaching support materials as well as supplementary non-fiction texts written in African languages or multilingually in African languages and English. This can ensure that reading and writing take place throughout the day and across the curriculum. This will ensure the daily literacy practices that shape them into becoming literate. The different iterations of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) results, every five years since 2006, have all pointed to poor reading performance among South African children. Though they all perform below the PIRLS benchmark, learners taking the assessment in English and Afrikaans do much better than those using African languages. The African language-speaking learners have had fewer opportunities to read in their home languages because they have little access to a wide variety of texts and to libraries and books at home. It is not surprising that the learners who do poorly in these assessments, even when they write in their home languages, come from working-class backgrounds, where it is more important to buy a loaf of bread than a book. Many interventions to improve literacy in the foundation phase have been carried out, with some arguing for a simple view of reading for working-class children. This means to improve the children's reading levels, teachers should focus on teaching decoding skills well. But there has been little appreciation for complex approaches to teaching literacy, which integrate the teaching of phonological awareness ( sound structure) with morphological awareness (understanding how words can be broken down into smaller units of meaning such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes) for African languages, teaching of reading with the teaching of writing, art (visual and performative) and storytelling for children from working-class backgrounds.
IOL News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Champion Proteas will burst straight through every ceiling, insists Ashwell Prince
Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince has worked his magic with the SA unit. Photo: ITUMELENG ENGLISH Independent Media Image: ITUMELENG ENGLISH Independent Media THROUGHOUT the Proteas' two-year cycle, including heading into the World Test Championship final, the batting unit came under intense criticism and comparison. Many looked at Australia's batting unit and identified their experience, including that of Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head – who are some of the best in the world – and compared that to South Africa's young line-up. There were questions and doubts on the unit's ability to hold their ground against a strong Australia attack, forgetting the centuries that the batters have scored throughout the cycle, be it here at home in South Africa or away from home. Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince commented on the batters' potential upon arriving in South Africa this week, and told the media that they are yet to reach their ceiling and that the comparison should stop. 'I think as South Africans, we obviously had a generation where you had a batting line-up consisting of Smith, Gibbs, Kallis, AB, Amla, and out of all those names, there are about four or five of them in this Hall of Fame,' Prince stated. 'The dangerous thing from a South African point of view is to compare every young player who comes up in the system to Hall of Famers, because not every batsman can be a Hall of Famer. 'It's really important for people who are working with the young batters to understand that this is actually a good batsman, because if you compare them to Hall of Famers, then everybody is not going to be good enough. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Then you're just going to say, well, 'This guy is not good enough because AB used to do this', or whoever. 'You just got to take one person at a time, identify what they're good at, and like every other player, we all have limitations, and we try and brush up on those limitations.' Mzansi, you showed UP! 🫵🇿🇦💚 Thank you to every South African who came out to OR Tambo this morning to welcome our ICC World Test Championship winners home! Your love, your flags, your voices echoed through the halls. This victory is for YOU!#WTCFinal #ProteasWTCFinal… — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 18, 2025 With such a youthful batting group, as a batting coach, Prince had a job to do, and that entailed being able to show the batters their true potential and encouraging them to push through the ceiling many fans around the world have placed on them. 'Something that I shared with the team beforehand, we spoke about the youthful nature of this batting line-up, which means that because they're youthful... They haven't reached their ceiling yet,' said Prince. 'Their ceiling is still coming. 'On top of that, everybody from media, spectators in the ground, people watching the game around the world, any person who watches games from an advantage point will have an opinion about every individual's ceiling and the team's ceiling. 'And the message is simple from our side: let them believe what they want to believe. 'We burst straight through the ceiling. That was the message. 'We'll burst through whatever they feel the ceiling is, and that's exactly what they did. 'Aiden Markram played an innings any person never thought he was capable of; he burst straight through the top of that.
