Here’s a great way to keep your kids learning and entertained during the long weekend

The long weekend is here, and if you’re a parent thinking, “How am I going to keep my kids busy and out of trouble?” you’re certainly not alone. And if you’re planning a long road trip, the question becomes even more relevant as a bored and agitated child can be a considerable distraction to a driver. The good news is that Internet TV platforms like Showmax (where you can both download and live-stream) offer a great way to keep kids entertained and intellectually stimulated.

Too much TV can leave a child inactive and under-stimulated, but academic studies suggest that children’s programmes aiming at education will make a positive impact on literacy and numeracy, especially for toddlers and pre-schoolers. So, what are the facts?

• Educational expert, Milton Chen, has spent his career designing and testing lessons embedded in various well-known children’s programmes. He notes that well-designed programmes can teach skills like letter and sound recognition, as well as cultivate a love of reading.

• The reputable Public Broadcasting Service stresses that children who, at 30 months of age, watched certain programmes (like Dora the Explorer) developed greater vocabularies and higher expressive language.

• The Centre for the Advancement of Health has said that young children who regularly spend time watching various educational TV programmes performed better on academic tests than those who didn’t. The positive benefits, however, seem to have an element of time sensitivity. The best results were achieved by children between the ages of 2 and 3:

Good educational programs can provide lasting benefits to children at many ages, but it may be especially important to provide such fare for very young children because they are less likely than older children to be exposed to formal preschool instruction.

But, all the studies that favour educational TV have very specific stipulations. Programmes must employ proven methods to facilitate learning, and too much exposure to entertainment-only programmes will have negative side effects, including a lowering in literacy, stifled social skills, and, possibly, even childhood obesity. When choosing content for your children, keep the following in mind:

1. The type of content (educational);
2. Hours of exposure (1-2 episodes per day), and;
3. Age of exposure (Ages 2-6), all matter immensely.

Get this right, and you’re empowering your child by giving them a fun way to better prepare for classroom challenges. The valuable message you’re sending is, simply, “Learning can be great fun!”

A useful feature of a platform like Showmax is that as a parent, you have the final say as to what the little (and even slightly older) ones can access. Here is a brief overview of how to exercise your parental control:

Below is a short list of some of the educational kid’s programmes offered by Showmax:

Bubble Guppies

Jump into this lively underwater classroom where pre-schoolers can learn school-readiness skills like science, maths, literacy and more, through energetic song and dance. (Ages 2-6)

Dora the Explorer

Our heroine leads kids through new paths of learning and fun. Kids are encouraged to help Dora overcome obstacles by interacting with various memory and reasoning challenges. (Ages 2-6)

Dinosaur Train

Based on the input of palaeontologists, science educators and early childhood education experts, Dinosaur Train promotes critical thinking skills. (Ages 2-6)

Go, Diego, Go!

Diego, with the help of his friends, high-tech gadgets, and viewers at home, is off on adventures to help animals in need. Kids get to learn all about the animals Diego saves from disaster. (Ages 2-6)

The Gruffalo

In this animated adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s classic short story, children learn that by using their “smarts”, they can overcome many of life’s difficult obstacles. (Ages 3 and above)

Thomas and Friends

This popular series follows the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine. The educational value here lies in the moral and character-developing dilemmas faced by Thomas. (Ages 2-6)