If you’re one of UAE’s parents worried that screen time rules for your kids have gone out of the window these last few months, then it may make you feel better to know you are not alone.
In fact, according to Time Out’s Social Distancing Survey, more than half of mums and dads in the emirates have relaxed the limit on how much time their children spend on their devices.
The survey, which polled more than 1,000 adult UAE residents in May, asked: “Have you relaxed screen time rules in your house?”
Of 239 respondents, 66 percent admitted to loosening the rules on screen time, while 14 perecent said they didn’t have any restrictions to start with.
The rest of those answered “no” to the question meaning that just 20 percent are sticking to enforcing time limits on the amount of time their kids can have access to their iPads and other devices.
The survey then went on to probe more deeply on the subject by asking how much time kids are actually spending in front of a screen.
Sixty nine percent of parents confessed to their kids spending an increased amount of time on a device, while just nine percent said it was less time.
Twenty two percent answered that their children were on their iPads and devices just as much during the last few months as they had been prior to school closures and lockdown.
But when asked whether parents had needed to buy additional devices in order to facilitate their children’s online learning, 73 percent said no.
In addition, 59 percent said that their kids were being kept entertained at the weekends by devices, only slightly more than with arts and crafts (58 percent) and family board games (46 percent), but a lot more than outdoor activities (28 percent) and in a private swimming pool (24 percent). Seven percent stated other ways.
Time Out’s Social Distancing Survey, which collected responses from adults living across the Emirates, ran for the month of May, and covered a number of topics, including the impact of the pandemic on personal finances, rent, family life, dining habits, shopping habits, holidays and leisure.
For more from Time Out’s Social Distancing Survey, click here.
