Trimbos is looking for digital scales for children from 0 to 4 years

The new Advice van Trimbos on whether, and if so, how young children can use digital media helps childcare professionals, youth health care, child physical therapists, and neighborhood coaches with young children’s guidance. It also provides tools to provide specific advice to parents regarding media use.

The strength of Trimbos’ “digital balance approach” is that there is no negative opinion about children’s digital activities, but that attention is paid to the balance between digital activities and movement. Digitization and operation do not always conflict with each other in practice. Games can also be used, for example, for extra exercise. Think fitness apps or a Wii tennis match. In the Sint Maartenskliniek recently there was also a special, interactive and digital one play wall which helps children to rehabilitate in a playful way. But also in childcare, digital opportunities are regularly used to exercise together. For example, children can participate in yoga exercises on YouTube or practice a dance together under digital guidance.

Reduce your screen time

Despite these positive opportunities and the fact that children also learn a lot from digital tools, it has been shown that, on average, the many hours of distraction that digital options offer cause much less movement. Watching a movie on the iPad, making a video call with grandpa and grandma or watching an episode of Paw Patrol on TV is a daily recurring ritual for most children aged 0-4. It is therefore almost impossible to imagine the life of young children without the use of digital media. In a recent guideline, screen time is not recommended at all even up to age 2. However, the question is to what extent this advice still aligns with current reality.

Social and mental health

Trimbos says balancing a child’s various activities is especially important, while paying enough attention to physical health: regular and varied exercise, limiting sitting for long periods, and getting enough sleep. “And also with enough attention to social and mental health. Social health is about enough time with others, but also time for yourself. Mental health is about making enough effort and time for relaxation. It’s important to help 0-4 year olds find a healthy balance and teach them to do it on their own later.”

The digital balance model

A useful tool for healthcare professionals and parents to find digital balance for children is the so-called digital balance model. On website digital scale contains various instructive tests to see how things are going and a lot of information.

“The model makes media use negotiable in relation to health. It can help parents make clear choices for their young children and teach them how to use digital media in a healthy way. As a professional you can use the template to guide parents and children. How do you do this? By helping children and their parents make informed choices, with and without digital media. What constitutes a healthy balance is different for everyone. Differences in needs also play a role in this. Digital balance is about organizing all of the time in such a way that a child feels good and healthy.