This Could Be the Key to Curing Your Child’s Screen Addiction
By Movieguide® Contributor
The key to solving your child’s screen addiction might be simpler than you think.
The amount of screen time keeps increasing, and kids are frequently seen with an iPad in hand to stay occupied in many public spaces. But something as simple as an audiobook could be the cure.
A device called a Toniebox, which made its way from Germany to the U.S. in 2020, promises to keep kids entertained without a screen.
“A small square media player about the size of a box of tissues, tactile and puffy on the outside, with two mismatched ‘ears,’ the box serves as a player for the actual ‘Tonies’—small figurines that stick to the top and play songs, tell stories, or both” Glamour describes.
“The Toniebox uses audio storytelling to introduce pre-readers and developing readers to the wonders of narrative long before children can read the words in a book,” the Tonie website reads. “When children combine tonies with play, they unlock the real wonder of storytelling — a mix of fascination, surprise, curiosity and a craving for exploration all stirred together. Through this, they discover powers within to create and transport themselves to worlds and wonders all on their own.”
The purpose of the Toniebox is to replace a physical screen with audio stories or songs to inspire kids’ imaginations. Much of the content comes from today’s most popular kids’ entertainment like FROZEN, THE LION KING, PEPPA PIG and CARS and classic children’s book characters like Peter Rabbit or Pippi Longstocking, just without the harmful effects of screens.
“I joined the company because I truly believe that it is such a marvelous product that inspires imagination and accelerates the development in a way that screens simply do not,” Christoph Frehsee, the president of Tonies North America, said in an interview with Glamour. “So I’d say the optimist [in] me was always like, Yeah, that’s a total home run…[but] I really certainly was surprised by the level of organic virality.”
Frehsee went on to explain that he and many other employees at Tonie share a special memory from their childhoods: “listening to their favorite kids books and characters on a cassette recorder.”
There are many similar devices including the Yoto, a kids’ audio speaker.
“Yoto puts kids safely in control of their listening, learning and play. No microphones. No cameras. No ads,” the toy promises.
Movieguide® previously reported on some other tips about child screen time:
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently outlined new guidance to help parents manage their child’s screen time.
“It poses five essential questions and calls them the five C’s,” the TODAY show reported.
The five C’s include:
- Child: Who is your child?
- Content: What is worth the attention of your child?
- Calm: How do kids manage their emotions, especially around bedtime?
- Crowding Out: What does social media get in the way of?
- Communication: How can you talk to your kids and build healthier relationships with their devices?
“5 C’s guidance for each age group starts with information about the developmental stages kids are going through and how this influences media use,” Healthy Children reported. “It also describes healthy media habits to strive for at home. You can use these to build upon how you’re already connecting with your kids.”
