7 Fun DIY Activities For The Family That Doesn't Involve Screen Time
Excessive screen time is harmful to both us and our children
By Sara Iman -
If you are concerned about your family's screen time, you have good reason to be. Last year, Singaporeans clocked more than 12 hours of screen time every day, with us spending an average of 8.07 hours on the Internet, 2.47 hours on TV viewing and 2.17 hours on social media daily.
Excessive screen time is detrimental to our health in many ways. For starters, it strains the eyes and may lead to or worsen myopia (short-sightedness). A global study by Plano found that high levels of mobile device screen time in children were associated with almost a 30% higher risk of myopia, and when excessive computer screen time was added, this increased to almost 80%. Additionally, screen time may also cause sleep disruptions due to blue light emission, and may increase the risk of obesity because of the sedentary nature of mobile device usage.
With the upcoming school holidays, it might be tempting to sit down with your kids and enjoy some screen time by watching TV or playing video games together. But for the sake of eye health and overall wellbeing, we are recommending these fun DIY activities you can do at home with your kids, which don’t involve screens.
Terrariums are known to be quite therapeutic to make and are relatively easy to look after. You can customise the sand and the figurines to your child’s liking as well. If you fear that the terrarium might fall over and make a mess, you may opt for closed terrariums.
You can buy these terrarium kits online from Shopee or The Green Capsule.
Tie-dye has made a comeback this year with celebs like Kim Lim and Germaine Tan rocking the trend. With any old white shirt of choice and a tie-dye kit like this from Shopee, you can create matching shirts for the whole family.
Tip: Dye the shirts in a big container for an easier clean-up later on.
Home gardens are a great way to teach children about patience, and plants of course. Check out everythinggreen.sg for a variety of home gardening sets from herbs to microgreens and other home gardening accessories. Starting small with microgreens, you can reap what you have sown in three to five days, and make a nice salad.
Bento cakes (downsized cakes that come in takeaway boxes) are all the rage right now. For something so cute, it is actually easier and cheaper to make than you think. To get in on the trend, why not try making those cakes at home as an appreciation gift for the people around you? For the cake portion, you can use a 3-in-1 foolproof cake mix like Betty Crocker’s Devil’s Food Supermoist Cake Mix which you can buy here. If you desire a cream cheese frosting, turn to this easy YouTube recipe.
For decorating inspiration, you can check out this video.
Put your spatial awareness and fine motor skills to the test by making your own little dollhouse, or car or even a dinosaur with these wooden puzzles from Daiso. This activity could be on the harder side, so definitely help the kids along the way.
With these $1.50 tote bags from Muji, you can get the kids to decorate them with fabric markers to make their own special bags that can be used for going out, carrying lunch boxes and more. It’s a great opportunity to teach them about reducing the use of plastic bags.
Tip: To prevent the markers from bleeding, place a layer of cardboard in between the bag while decorating.
Embrace your inner archaeologists and start digging for fossils. This kit, and many more that you can get from Toys”R”Us, makes learning enjoyable and easy to digest for the young ones.
Buy it here.
Text by: Sara Iman/HerWorld