More Active Learning & Less Screen Time

How ‘well’ is your child?

Camp Australia’s Child Impact Survey has revealed that there are concerns for children’s emotional instability and lack of structure persisting in a largely post-COVID Australia.

The survey, now in its third year, was first launched in 2020 to help develop an understanding of impacts on Australian children aged between 5 – 12 during the pandemic. The latest survey (December 2022) drew responses from over 5,000 families and 130 school partners which tracked the issues children encountered over the past 12 months and the challenges they continue to face.

“Almost one quarter (24%) of parents have reported their children’s emotional patterns in 2022 have worsened”

It was reported that children are more easily overwhelmed and/or more sensitive compared to the previous three years.

Psychologist and leading parenting expert, Dr Justin Coulson, has also iterated “almost two-thirds of school leaders are also reporting these as their top concerns as well,” and that “COVID lockdowns have been the catalyst for changing the way that we encourage our children to socialise and the way that we encourage them to engage with life”.

The Child Impact Survey has shown that more than a third of families (36%) and 1 in 4 of school partners (26%) are concerned about children’s socialisation, despite the end of lockdowns.

With many families having been in lockdown during the pandemic, a lot of interactions and relationships were naturally directed online or via screens (i.e. smartphones and other devices).

“42% of parents reported too much unproductive screen time as a top concern for their children”

Families have discovered that, although some screen time was unavoidable (i.e. online classes, e-learning), there has been an overall increased screen time that has also affected their mental and physical wellbeing. This includes spending too much unproductive time watching TV, playing video games, or engaging on social platforms.

“There’s holiday care camps during the term break that often offer sports or creative activities to support children’s overall sense of wellbeing.”

As Dr Justin Coulson has said above, we want to get parents and carers out of the bubble and help kids expand their horizons, whether it’s through local sports clubs, art and drama, community group and more.

So, what does Camp Australia do to help?

Camp Australia provides Before and After School Care through Your OSHC, as well as Rocketeers holiday care programs during term breaks. The tailored care and variety of programs mean we are supporting socialisation to give children more structure around the school day, as well as promoting social development with an alternative to screen time.

We have also launched our national Handball Championships in 2021 after getting responses from families through our Child Impact Survey that they were concerned about the lack of physical activity for children, especially during the pandemic.

In their third year running, 2023 Handball Championships are coming soon – kicking off in services from March through to April, then the Regional Championships to be held in May. For more details and the latest news, please head to https://campaustralia.com.au/handball.