Will Rani’s eyes become square?

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FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Will Rani’s eyes become square?

Text & Illustrations : Martin Sommer/ Translation: Sawsan K. Kassis / Publisher: Dar Sanad

“Ringo must not get square eyes” is Martin Sommer’s humorous and topical book about the boy Ringo, who prefers to spend all day behind a screen. But Ringo’s father doesn’t think it’s a good idea – you get square eyes. If Ringo got a fiver for every time his dad said that phrase, he could soon buy a whole house! But Ringo is not rich, and he is completely and utterly tired of hearing his father repeat the same phrase day in and day out. When Ringo asks his father what he can do instead, the father has a lot of great ideas. At least from an adult’s point of view. But are these also good ideas if you are a child like Ringo?

Family Activities

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Parents Suggestions for “Will Rani's eyes become square?”

Dear Parents,

Rani's father thinks his son is spending too much time in front of his small screens, and suggests alternative activities that Rani finds boring, until they find a joint activity that takes them both away from the screen. This is a humorous story that deals with the topic of time and tells us that spending time looking at screens may make us lose a lot, as we are not aware and we do not observe what is happening around us.

The first thing we lose is the quality and pleasure we derive from our communication with our children, which requires us to devote ourselves mentally and emotionally, away from the preoccupation with the screen. It also requires us to be role models for our children, supporting them in understanding how to use screens within a specific time which fits with their age group; In return, we should encourage them to play outside, with friends, and to read books and do other activities.

The story also informs us not to be nervous when our child is bored, and not to rush to amuse them. Boredom is a natural feeling that pushes the child to contemplate what is happening in their inner world, and to ignite their curiosity and understand their thoughts in order to come up with something to entertain them.

Will all our eyes become square in the age of screens? We hope that doesn't happen!

Family Activities

Let’s talk about:
- Use of screens: We may ask our children: Why do you think the parents prevented Rani from watching the screen so much? How does the continuous looking at screens affect us? How do we feel when our family sits with us while they are busy with their screens? - Alternatives to Screens: Rani's father suggested alternative activities to his son. We can talk with our child about things they like to do on their own and things they like to do with us, and we can include them in our weekly schedule. - Boredom: We can talk to our child about the times when they were bored. What helps them to overcome this feeling? We can share our feeling of boredom and how we deal with it with our child.
Let’s communicate:
- We can reduce the time we spend on screens and play with our children. We might read an interesting book together, go for a walk, listen to music, or prepare a delicious meal. It would be great if we set aside a consistent weekly time for these activities.
Let’s create:
create: - We can help our child prepare a weekly calendar, in which they draw icons that symbolize activities they like to do alone or with their friends and family members. They will definitely be proud when they see it hanging on the fridge in the kitchen! - We can devise an agreement with our children about how long they sit in front of the screens and how to use screens at home, and we will stick to this agreement as a family.
Let’s explore:
- We can explore apps in our mobile for fun family games. - We can search for the benefits and drawbacks of using screens for continuous periods with our children.