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Screen Crisis

“
Parents struggle to control children’s use
of electronic devices during lockdowns. My children ask if

By Charleen Chen in Hsinchu they can watch
Disney cartoons

more often.

”

t is not easy for Kyra Kuo, a mother of two, to take care sometimes threw temper tantrums when I turned off the lessons, the brothers used the devices and cleaning the garden. Asking for More Cartoons to
of a 2-year-old son, Enzo, and a 10-month-old baby. television,” Kuo says. “When staying indoor for so long, for games and surfing on the Internet “Our family used to travel a lot. Watch
IAnti-COVID19 measures such as class suspension it was very hard to keep my elder son away from the elec- during the lockdown. When we couldn’t go out all of a sud- Lin Tien-yu, a Chinese teacher in
make it even more challenging for Kuo. tronic devices during the pandemic,” Kuo adds. Her children used to enjoy going den, the boys actually needed some Taiwan, has a daughter, aged 5, and
“I gave up strict control over Enzo’s television time, be- Wang Chun-ping, a Taiwanese blogger who has been to school and doing outdoor activities mental preparation,” says Wang. “I a son, aged 2. Her children used to
cause I was just too busy,” Kuo, a Taiwanese blogger and living in France for over 10 years, encountered similar such as hiking and swimming. But explained to them that we must stay join many activities such as drawing,
housewife, who is now living in the Netherlands after problems. Her two sons, Alexandre, aged 9, and Andre, now they switched to indoor activities indoor because we have to protect sightseeing, and simple DIY projects.
spending five years in Singapore, recalls. “I literally han- aged 6, stayed at home when the country was under lock- such as playing with building blocks ourselves and others.” But all these activities and their art
dled the baby and Enzo 24/7 with no breaks during the down from March to May this year. classes have been cancelled due to the
lockdown,” she says. “They used electronic devices indeed more often when pandemic.
Schools were shut down from March till June in Singa- staying home all day,” Wang says. Apart from having online “They ask if they can watch Disney
pore in 2020 when the country was under lockdown. Enzo, cartoons more often,” Lin says. Her
Kuo’s 2-year-old son had to stay at home, as his kindergar- children used to watch television for
ten closed. “ 10 to 20 minutes a day. But they now
When staying indoor for so spend more time on television as they
Longer Screen Time under Lockdown have to stay home most of the time
“Enzo watched television for roughly one hour [every long, it was hard to keep my and avoid going out to reduce the risk
day] during the lockdown,” Kuo recalls. of infection.
The kindergarten pupil used to only watch 15 minutes son away from the electronic “When the kids watch cartoons, I
television every day and do outdoor activities such as pic- can take the chance to relax a bit,” Lin
nicking and playing at parks. The family also took him to devices. says. As working parents, Lin and her
the zoos and aquariums on weekends before the pandemic. husband, an engineer, have become
The toddler’s television time jumped four times after the much busier juggling between family
world has been affected by the pandemic. His mind some- Lin u sed to take her children ou t f or fu n qu i te o ften bef ore the pandemic. (Photo and their work, as their children stay
Lin used to take her children out for fun quite often before the pandemic. (Photo
)
yu
rtesy o
Cou
-
f Lin Tien
times went blank after watching television for an hour. “He ” Courtesy of Lin Tien-yu) home all the time. They cannot let the