Raising children has never been straightforward, but modern parents are now faced with an entirely new set of challenges in the digital age. With technology playing such a prominent role in children’s lives, today’s parents need to develop effective strategies and practical skills to guide their children towards healthy lifestyles — both physically and emotionally — in a fast-changing world.
What’s at Stake
The current generation of children is growing up during a time of significant health challenges and concerning trends:
- Childhood obesity rates have reached alarming levels.
- Health conditions linked to poor nutrition, obesity, and inactive lifestyles — such as high blood pressure and fatty liver disease — are now being detected at increasingly younger ages.
- Type 1 diabetes was once thought of as a childhood condition, while type 2 diabetes was generally associated with middle-aged and older adults with poor health habits. This distinction has now faded, with doctors observing a steep rise in cases of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome among children. Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of conditions including elevated blood pressure, high blood sugar, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels.
- Rates of childhood depression have also increased in recent years, with social media use becoming a significant risk factor.
These worrying health trends have coincided with a dramatic increase in screen time — the total time children spend watching television and using screen-based devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers for gaming, social media, messaging, and general online browsing.
The Rise of Screen Time
Research shows that children’s screen time has doubled within a single generation. Today, children aged 5 to 16 spend almost seven hours per day in front of a screen — compared to an average of just 3.5 hours 25 years ago.
This dramatic increase has come at the expense of healthier childhood activities, such as free play, outdoor exercise, sports, and — crucially — sleep.
Parenting Skills for the Digital Age
Helping children to grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults will require parents to master a range of important skills.
Modelling positive behaviour
Children learn and develop by copying the behaviours they observe in the adults around them — particularly in the early years, when parents play the most central role in a child’s life. The habits you demonstrate — from the food you eat and the amount of exercise you get to how you use technology — leave a lasting impression.
It’s unrealistic for parents to model perfect behaviour all the time, and children don’t expect it either. However, children gradually learn to recognise the link between effort and outcome by watching you. They are also quick to spot inconsistency, so saying “do as I say, not as I do” will ultimately undermine your other efforts.
Active engagement
Being actively involved in your child’s life is essential for effective parenting. This means dedicating time to them, participating in activities together, having regular conversations, and explaining the reasons behind your household rules and expectations.
It’s natural to want to be liked by your children, but being an engaged parent is not the same as being their friend — maintaining a clear sense of parental authority is equally important.
Establishing Routines
A wealth of research confirms that routines and structure contribute significantly to children’s long-term happiness, health, and success. Healthy routines might include consistent mealtimes, regular bedtime, and dedicated time for creative activities, outdoor play, and physical exercise.
Although children may complain about certain rules, they ultimately thrive when their lives have a predictable structure.
Setting Clear Limits
Developing strong limit-setting skills is essential if you want your children to grow up with good self-control and behaviour. Setting limits includes defining clear expectations for behaviour and providing consistent feedback and consequences when rules are broken.
In the digital age, this also means setting firm screen time limits and creating device-free zones at home. Leading paediatric organisations recommend no more than two hours of recreational screen time per day for children over the age of two — and none at all for children under two.
Designating certain areas — such as bedrooms — as screen-free, and keeping mealtimes free from digital distractions, can help. Parents should also think carefully about the right age for a child to receive their first mobile phone, and establish clear rules about who pays for it and how it can be used.
The Importance of Free Play
One of the major casualties of excessive screen time is free play — a crucial part of a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social development, particularly during the early years (from infancy to around age seven).
Free play refers to unstructured, child-led play, where children decide what they want to do, how they want to do it, and when they’re ready to stop. This could involve anything from imaginative role-play games and dressing up, to building dens or playing make-believe with friends.
These open-ended activities help children build confidence, develop social skills such as sharing and conflict resolution, and cultivate creativity. Free play is also an important stepping stone towards developing the independence and problem-solving abilities they will need throughout their lives.
The Challenge for Today’s Parents
While technology has certainly transformed childhood, the core challenge of parenting remains the same — finding the right balance between authority and independence, between structure and freedom. Parents who strike that balance successfully will discover that, despite the new obstacles, the rewards of raising healthy, happy children are just as fulfilling as they have always been.
For more information, please contact the Children’s (Pediatrics) Center:
Bumrungrad International Clinic (BIC) Building, 17th floor
Open daily, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm
Editor’s Note: This article has been reprinted here with permission of Bumrungrad International Hospital.
