Dynseo proposes
PARENTAL CONTROL with COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES
IN THIS GUIDE
01.
Findings and associated disorders
Excessive screen use among children today can compromise their social development and mental health, while exacerbating the risks of obesity and sleep disorders. A healthy balance between screen time and physical and social activities is crucial for their overall well–being.
02.
Solutions
Parental control and regular breaks are two strategies to combat excessive screen use in children. Parental control limits access and screen time, while breaks encourage children to engage in physical, social, and creative activities.
03.
The benefits of a sports break
A balanced approach incorporating regular breaks for alternative activities is essential to mitigate the harmful effects of excessive screen use in children, thereby supporting their long–term physical, mental and social well–being. This trade–off between technology and offline activities is crucial to cultivating a balanced lifestyle in our digital age.
04.
BONUS: Case studies
Real–life cases illustrating the challenges of excessive screen use in children, while offering practical and achievable solutions for parents and educators. These examples will provide valuable insights into promoting a healthy balance between technology and children‘s lifestyles.
Documentation
Parental control
COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES
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01.
THE USE OF SCREENS: AN ALARMING OBSERVATION
On average, children currently spend about 6 to 7 hours a day in front of screens, according to recent public health research.
Twins
Lost Poem
Coco at the beach
The use of screens: an alarming observation
First of all, what do we observe about the effects on young children?
First of all, they are becoming more and more sedentary as indicated in a report from the WHO stating “80% of school-going adolescents globally did not meet current recommendations of at least one hour of physical activity per day”.
The causes? Screens are real Swiss army knives that allow both learning and playing.
Children therefore get into the habit of looking for ways to entertain themselves on the screens without leaving their sofa. Moreover, the tablet or the smartphone is also a force of proposition that suits parents well. Indeed, the role of parents is also to stimulate the child so that he can have a good cognitive and motor development.
« The nanny is the tablet! »
How often have you heard or said this phrase?
The Covid-19 epidemic and the multiple lockdowns have completely disrupted the family organization. Some parents are turning to the simplest and most practical solutions to stimulate their children growing up in this environment.
In itself, it is not so much the screens that are harmful as the time that children spend on them. The latter has been rising sharply over the last twenty years and this is even more the case with the current health crisis.
The problem is that blue light is addictive and it is difficult to get rid of it. The actions that we carry out on it bring pleasure and the brain associates this pleasure to the fact of seeing a screen.
Therefore, all pretexts become good to look at his smartphone, television or tablet.
The screen is an important source of stimuli and children can have difficulty managing all this information.
When information is plentiful and poorly organized, the child may experience certain effects such as:
THE FIGURES
- Children use an average of 2.4 screens regularly
- 87% of children aged 3 to 10 watch television
- 48% use a tablet
What does it mean? Well, it means lasting damage to health, sleep, cognition, behavior and emotions.
The WHO recommends that children do at least 60 minutes of sports activity per day. Physical activity allows children to let off steam, feel better about their bodies and learn self-control, which is fundamental to their daily development.
In addition, the French Ministry of Education has made a commitment with Paris 2024 to ensure that each student benefits from at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity, in addition to PE lessons, for a shared objective of health and well-being for students.
Disorders related to screens
Today, we speak of SES, that is to say, Screen Overexposure Syndrome.
All this is characterized by addictive behaviors towards screens. Even though the definition of SES needs to be further detailed, we can distinguish many elements and criteria related to it.
Namely that :
- Children have symptoms related to mood, anxiety, cognition, behavior, or social interactions that can lead to disabilities at school, at home, or with peers. Typical signs/symptoms mimic chronic stress and include irritable, depressed or labile mood, excessive temper tantrums, disorganized behavior, oppositional and defiant behavior, lack of sportsmanship, social immaturity, poor eye contact, insomnia and non-restorative sleep, learning difficulties, and limited short-term memory.
- SES can recur in the absence or presence of other psychiatric, neurological, behavioural or learning disorders and can mimic or exacerbate any mental disorder.
- Symptoms can improve significantly with the strict removal of screen media (a “screen fast”).
- Symptoms can return with the reintroduction of screen media following the fast. Some children can tolerate a limitation after a fast, while others seem to relapse immediately upon re-exposure.
- Vulnerability factors that influence this include: being male, pre-existing psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, learning, or behavioral disorders, co-existing stressors, and cumulative time of screen exposure since birth. In addition, boys with ADHD or ASD are particularly at risk.
02.
THE USE OF SCREENS: THE SOLUTIONS
Parental controls and the introduction of regular sports breaks offer a comprehensive approach to limiting children‘s screen use, promoting a balance between technology and an active lifestyle.
Color Form
The walker
Syllabus
What are the solutions?
The situation is alarming and the effects of overexposure to screens are undeniable. Indeed, let’s remember that it is the screen time that is negative, not the screens themselves, which, on the contrary, can allow the child to learn while having fun, as long as he knows how to use them.
PARENTAL CONTROL
At DYNSEO, we do not believe in parental control. Indeed, forbidding your child to use screens puts the family in a conflict situation.
And conflict means that the child will put all his energy into getting around the rules.
In short, by wanting to create a healthy environment for the child, we do the opposite. Parental control then appears as a temporary situation that only makes things worse.
This is especially true since parental control is usually easily circumvented and the child always finds a way to the child always finds a way to do it behind your back.
According to a Médiamétrie study for the Observatoire de la parentalité et de l’éducation numérique (OPEN) and the Union nationale des associations familiales (UNAF), with the support of Google, 95% of parents have at least one rule in place to control their children’s digital use.
Despite this, most children manage to bypass this control thanks to the advice of older friends or video tutorials available online.
of parents find such limitations “difficult” or “very difficult” to enforce and that this is a reason for conflict with their children.
REGULAR BREAKS
Another solution is to take regular breaks from screen exposure.
You should know that public authorities such as the CSA are formal on these points :
- No screens before age 3,
- from 3 to 6 years old, screens must be limited to 30 minutes per day,
- from 6 to 10 years old, screens must be limited to 1 hour per day,
- beyond that, the child must become an active spectator and know how to stop.
Nowadays, these recommendations are very difficult to keep (and yet essential! It is through the break time that a good use of screens is made).
That’s why DYNSEO has created an educational and intelligent application that respects your children’s screen time. Contrary to popular belief, screens are our friends and it is the use we make of them that is dangerous.
Coco, the educational solution
To combat these problems, we have developed the COCO application. Adapted for children and makes the use of screens educational and fun!
The application is compatible with Apple and Android devices, and does not require an Internet connection.
EDUCATIONAL GAMES
This application contains a multitude of games for children that we will detail right away. Namely, these games are all intended to be educational and promote the development of your child. But that’s not all!
COLOR FORM
In this game, the child must look for the shape or color of the model among the proposals.
Plus: in the medium and difficult levels the rule can change at each turn.
We’ll have to be careful!
THE WALKER
In this game the child must place the pieces in the right place to create a path between Coco and the finish line.
Logic, attention, spatial perception and much more.
SYLLABUS
In this game, the child must reform words from the syllables proposed on the screen. Support for language and learning.
THE CHILD AS AN ACTIVE PERSON
Often when children use the tablet they are passive: they watch videos, they listen to songs or someone talking…
The child remains seated and his only movement is to click on the next video. To learn, the child needs to be active, to try, to make mistakes and to find the solution by himself!
Coco offers more than 30 games in which the child has objectives and, to achieve them, must use cognitive functions such as attention, memory, language or spatial perception.
The child becomes an actor in the game!
In the games he has to click on objects, drag them on the screen or put him in the right position on the screen.
The more general an activity is, the less it can be adapted to the child’s needs.
On the contrary, the more personalized the activity, the more it is adapted to the needs of the child using it and therefore more effective.
Thanks to 3 levels of difficulty each child can play according to his skills. As they grow, they can increase the difficulty level for more adapted games.
Coco offers more than 30 games so the child can discover different types of activities and stimulate different cognitive functions. Moreover, the variety prevents from creating fixations.
Coco offers more than 30 games so the child can discover different types of
activities and stimulate different cognitive functions. Moreover, the variety prevents from creating fixations;
Dynseo knows that the light of the screen can be dangerous for children so it has implemented adaptations to make the screen intelligent and not overload the child with stimuli present.
All the games on Coco have pastel colors and good contrasts. This makes it easy to recognize the elements present and does not tire the eyes.
On the screen, visual information is sparse, to keep the attention on the objective of the game and not to overload the child with stimuli.
With a simple and intuitive interface, children can use Coco independently, learning to organize and manage games.
The use will therefore be efficient, precise and useful!
And on top of that, we’ve added COCO Sport Break, a dynamic break that allows your toddler to play but blocks the app after 15 minutes of play to suggest a sport break!
03.
THE SPORTS BREAK
Introducing regular sports breaks into children‘s routines is essential to counteract the harmful effects of excessive screen use, thus promoting their physical and mental health.
Quiet time
Dance with COCO
1, 2, 3, statue
An alternative to parental control
DYNSEO does not believe in parental control but rather in the intelligent use of your screens for the good development of your children.
Coco’s Sport Break is a feature that allows you to take a dynamic break. It serves to reduce the sedentary lifestyle of children and to guarantee moments of physical activity.
Alternate an educational activity with the tablet with a dynamic activity.
Several activities to follow the general development of the children.
Practical activity for home or school
WHY TAKE A BREAK?
The WHO advises limited screen time for children, depending on their age.
On the contrary, physical activity is fundamental for development and children should do 60 minutes a day.
Moreover, when children use screens it is difficult to interrupt the activity and the perception of time is altered, so the child often spends more time on the screen.
After 15 minutes of use, Coco Sport is activated and, for a defined period of time, the child must perform the proposed activities.
This way the child takes a break from screens, performs physical activity and improves his or her perception of time!
The rule is that he/she will only be able to return to the screen once the exercises have been completed and the break time is over.
You will be delighted to see him get up several times during the hour to exercise and he will love it too!
AVAILABLE GAMES
MIME AN ANIMAL
This game is designed to stimulate the imagination, learn new things and vary muscle tone and motor skills.
Here, COCO offers the child to imitate an animal. He can try to make you guess the animal after practicing, to later make a show of his favorite animals.
MIME AN EMOTION
This game is designed to teach children to recognize emotions in order to recognize them in others.
This stimulates the child’s empathy and allows him to associate body tones with emotions. For example, the child can understand that having a stomachache can mean being hungry.
Your child can then communicate better. This is a must-have game in the age of masks!
THE ACROBAT
This game is designed to improve the child’s balance, coordination, proprioception and kinesthesia.
Here, COCO shows an acrobatic pose to be done for a while. This is a physical game that you can do with him.
Don’t take it the wrong way if it’s better than you!
1, 2, 3 RED LIGHT
The purpose of this game is to promote the activation and inhibition of movement so that your child has better control of his body.
COCO plays music and your toddler must dance. When the music stops, he must not move! If he doesn’t, he loses. You can do this with multiple children and the last one standing wins.
DANCE WITH COCO
The interest of this game is to work on the perception of rhythm and to promote the muscle tone of your child. Music is played.
Sometimes she speeds up, sometimes she slows down, the goal being to dance according to the tempo of the music.
THE SPRING
During 2 minutes, COCO will perform movements on the screen (squatting, standing or sitting), and the child will have to reproduce them.
This game is ideal to develop the perception of the body in space and to improve muscle tone. With this, no more sedentary life!
The goal with a required sport break
DYNSEO does not believe in parental control but rather in the intelligent use of your screens for the good development of your children.
Coco’s Sport Break is a feature that allows you to take a dynamic break. It serves to reduce the sedentary lifestyle of children and to guarantee moments of physical activity.
To fight against the sedentary lifestyle that is increasingly present among children.
To improve the child’s cognition and motor skills through educational games.
Respect the child’s screen time by offering regular breaks.
Be an alternative to restrictive parental controls that do not make the child responsible or autonomous.
Promote inclusion by providing adapted content for children with disabilities.
THE INCLUSION
The Sport break offers exercises that are more physical than others: the educator or the parent can set the games so as not to create frustration and disparities in the children.
By offering customizable motor skills exercises for children with disabilities, it has tremendous psychological benefits:
It allows the maintenance of social relationships, the return of self-confidence, as well as the gain of a certain autonomy.
The break is thus beneficial on the physical and psychological level.
By offering customizable motor skills exercises for children with disabilities, it has tremendous psychological benefits:
It allows the maintenance of social relationships, the return of self-confidence, as well as the gain of a certain autonomy.
The break is thus beneficial on the physical and psychological level.
04.
CASE STUDY
Practical cases will be presented to help you find the best solutions to support your children
Mole invasion
Pop balloons
The acrobat
Sara answers your questions
Each child is different and has specific needs. The use of the tablet must therefore be personalized.
We have received questions from parents or health professionals who use our application for usage tips.
Here are some questions and answers, scenarios and practical examples that can help you erase doubts and use Coco better.
And if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate, the DYNSEO team is at your disposal!
Shoot us an email at contact@dynseo.com.
Children do not have the same concept of time as an adult. It is therefore more difficult for them to understand how much time they have spent on the tablet or that their time is up.
It will be important to give the child practical aids:
Example A:
When there are 10 minutes left before you tell the child to stop playing, tell the child by saying “I want to tell you that in 10 minutes you will have to turn off the tablet.” Do the same thing 5 minutes before and 1 minute before.
When you speak, underline the numbers that the child knows, they will see that time is passing (10, 5, 1, 0). When there is one minute left you can say, “There is only one minute left, time for one last game. Which game do you want to play last? The child will be able to finish the activity with their favorite game and they will be happy.
Example B:
Use a stopwatch or hourglass: set a time with the child and put the stopwatch or hourglass next to him/her.
He will see the time passing and the end of the activity will be linked to the stopwatch and not to you (the stopwatch has rung so the time is over).
Children live in a world full of technology, and while they are quick to learn how to use digital tools, it is important to teach them proper usage.
It’s up to us to give them the information, to explain how it works, the possibilities and the limitations.
That’s why, from the very first time they use the tablet, they should be shown how it works, where to press to turn it on, where to find the sound, how much force to use to touch the screen and how to open the Coco application.
If the tablet is only for the child, remove any applications that are not needed.
If the tablet is for the whole family, create different pages on the tablet by telling the child which page is theirs. They will be happy to have their own page and feel responsible.
Remind the child that the tablet will only be available for a set amount of time, explaining that it may hurt his eyes. When you impose limits or rules, explain why, so the child can understand and better accept it.
When the child is not using the tablet, store it in a drawer. This way, the child will not be tempted by the tablet and will only ask for it when he really wants to use it.
Exposion to screens and screen time is very important for children.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has established recommendations according to age: 0 – 3 years: no screen
3 – 6 years old: maximum one hour a day
> 6 years old: time varies depending on the child
In general, it is very important to be physically active every day!
But as said before, it is not only the time spent on the screen that is important, but also at what time of the day it is used.
Children should not use screens at night before going to sleep because sleep is regulated by a circadian cycle that is influenced by light and
darkness.
Blue light from screens influences this rhythm and can cause sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep, irregular sleep, frequent waking during the night).
Try to create a ritual in using the tablet. You can choose a specific time of the day (when the child comes home from school, at snack time, while the parents are preparing food…).
In this way, your child will only use the tablet at those times and for a period of time that is appropriate for his/her age.
It is true that when the child plays with the tablet, he tends to isolate himself and cut himself off from the world around him (for example, he does not answer when called) and this can indeed cause relationship difficulties. However, proper use of the screen can solve the problem.
The activity with the tablet does not have to indicate an isolation of the child. On the contrary, it can help them create and maintain positive relationships!
Example A:
When the child has finished playing, ask him what he played, whether he enjoyed it or whether he got a new high score.
This starts a discussion and maintains the relationship with the child. Plus, the game becomes something that can be shared and that everyone knows!
Example B:
Coco offers the possibility of playing with two people on the same tablet, with the screen split in two. You can share the game directly with the child or he can share it with his brothers and sisters.
Playing together is more fun and keeps the social connection going.
No, there is no parental control because with Coco it is not necessary!
All the resources present in the game (images, texts, words) are controlled and adapted to children, so they can’t find dangerous content.
In addition, after 15 minutes of play, Coco offers an Active Break. During a defined time, the child will have to perform physical activities, to move and to air the brain.
You can select the type of physical activities he can perform.
Finally, Coco records the games played and the scores obtained. You can therefore have a follow-up on your child’s gaming activity and performance.
In short, we have seen in this article how to fight effectively against screens. Nowadays, the findings are frightening since the time of exposure to screens and the sedentary lifestyle of young people are increasing. This is not without consequences, as psychologists report that they are accompanying younger and younger children with various cognitive disorders.
Solutions exist.
Nevertheless, they are not efficient and that’s why we created COCO for an intelligent use of screens. You can test the Coco program for free for 7 days, don’t hesitate! You can also contact us at coco@dynseo.com.
DISCOVER COCO THINKS AND COCO MOVES ©
The COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES © application contains more than 30 educational games to work on French, maths, logic, memory or attention;
In addition, the app imposes a sports break every 15 minutes of screen time to teach measured screen use.
Much smarter than parental controls!
