SINGAPORE \u2013 At the start of the year, Mr Aaron Ho and his wife made the tough choice to take away their teenage son\u2019s smartphone after his grades began to slip.<\/p>\n
But as the school holidays approach, Mr Ho hopes instead to set clearer boundaries on screen time use upon returning the confiscated smartphone to his 16-year-old.<\/p>\n
Having used Bloom \u2013 a physical keycard that locks and unlocks apps by tapping it on one\u2019s phone \u2013 to curb his own screen time, the 51-year-old said he is considering using it to manage his son\u2019s habits as well.<\/p>\n
Setting clear boundaries is one of the takeaways from Mr Ho\u2019s review of a set of resources designed to help parents foster healthy digital habits in their children.<\/p>\n
Issued on Nov 1 by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the materials advise parents to set clear rules and parental controls for device use, teach children to think before they post, report inappropriate content, and hold open discussions about what their children are doing online. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese four actions establish the foundation for children to develop healthy digital habits from an early age, paving the way for them to become discerning and responsible digital users,\u201d said IMDA in a statement on Nov 1. <\/p>\n
The advisory was developed in conjunction with parents, youth, and partners such as the Media Literacy Council.<\/p>\n Mr Aaron Ho with his wife, Ms Catherine Lee, and their two children, Samuel and Samantha. <\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF AARON HO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cIt includes information such as the dangers of social media, which parents might not consider before handing a phone to their children,\u201d said Mr Ho.<\/p>\n Curbing screen time has been an ongoing battle for many parents here. Only 37 per cent of parents in Singapore feel confident in their ability to guide their children\u2019s digital habits, according to the findings of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information\u2019s <\/p>\n inaugural Digital Parenting Survey,<\/p>\n <\/a> released in September.<\/p>\n The survey also found that 59 per cent of\u00a0parents want more support from the Government in managing their children\u2019s digital activities. The top choices were stronger legislation to protect children online, as well as digital resources and guides.<\/p>\n Parenting in the digital age is an issue of great concern to the Government, which is why it is a focal point of the 2025 Digital for Life Festival, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo on the sidelines of the event held at Heartbeat@Bedok on Nov 1.<\/p>\n Alongside President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, she toured booths at the festival, including those set up by Google, OpenAI, TikTok and the National Library Board.<\/p>\n The festival is in its fourth edition and previously focused on helping seniors adapt to new technology, imparting digital skills to children from disadvantaged backgrounds and, most recently, equipping Singaporeans with the know-how to use generative AI tools. <\/p>\n \u201cWe hope to start parents on the journey of becoming more confident, and the way to do so is to introduce more resources and help them appreciate what some of the parental controls are that they can implement,\u201d said Mrs Teo.<\/p>\n \u201cMore importantly, what kind of relationship they should be building with their children in order to sustain a level of guidance for the children, as they engage online.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that efforts to continue reaching parents in the heartland areas, such as schools, will be led by Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam. <\/p>\n President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, accompanied by (from left) IMDA chief executive Ng Cher Pong and Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, generating an image of his younger self using generative AI at the Digital for Life Festival on Nov 1.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Madam Jane Sng, the mother of a 14-year-old boy, said the resources are a helpful reminder to practise what she preaches about screen time use. <\/p>\n \u201cThe resources are also categorised by age group, which is helpful because the advice for a toddler is different from what is useful for a teenager,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Just a week after lifting the three-hour screen time limit set for her son, now that school holidays are here, Madam Sng was shocked to find that his daily usage had risen to 17 hours. <\/p>\n This includes time spent on his phone and gaming consoles.<\/p>\n To combat this, the 44-year-old senior marketing manager hopes to have more open discussions with her son about how to spend his free time during the holidays, such as encouraging him to read and play sports.<\/p>\n Senior marketing manager Jane Sng and her 14-year-old son Ethan.<\/p>\n PHOTO: COURTESY OF JANE SNG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to give him more leeway to plan his time,\u201d she said. \u201cIf he can manage his screen time and it doesn\u2019t affect his studies, I might remove the limits entirely. If not, then I\u2019ll have to bring them back.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are also a few tips I picked up from the resources that I thought were practical. <\/p>\n \u201cFor instance, I found out that it\u2019s possible to filter out inappropriate language on apps like Instagram and the Google search engine.\u201d<\/p>\n IMDA\u2019s resources can be found on the <\/p>\n Digital <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n for<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>
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