When a child is struggling to read, the tablet is usually the first thing parents blame. I understand why — it is the most visible change in how children spend their time. But after years of working with children who read well and children who do not, I have come to believe the question “is screen time bad?” is the wrong question. The better question is: what is the screen time replacing?
Let’s be honest: parenting is rewarding, but it’s also exhausting. Between school runs, picky eaters, meltdowns, and the never-ending laundry pile, parents of children aged 3 to 12 are constantly juggling.
Standard Four is where the primary school journey really starts to pick up speed. Your child is now around age 10 or 11, and this is the year the work of Standard Three starts to pay off or catch up. It's the last full year before SEA, and everything from the curriculum to the homework load to your child's own sense of responsibility shifts up a gear. If you're a parent of a Standard Four student, here's what you can expect, and how to support your child effectively.