Since the start of the Circuit Breaker period in early April, many parents have been struggling with their work responsibilities while trying to keep their children engaged and entertained within the four walls of the home.

Some parents have turned to designing an elaborate calendar of creative activities, but keeping at it for a prolonged period of time can be tough, and painfully time-consuming.

To ease their burden, some parents may soften their stance on their children’s screen time. But we all know how it goes: Before you know it, the kids are on their mobile devices watching videos or playing games the whole day. And then the guilt sets in when you realise that their unfettered screen time has negatively impacted their sleep, school work or behaviour.

While unlimited screen time is never good, there’s no denying that digital media can help children learn and develop. It’s all about finding the right content and setting appropriate boundaries.

Here’s where Samsung Kids can lend a helping hand.

A SAFE ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU CAN CONTROL

Pre-installed on every Samsung Galaxy phone and tablet, Samsung Kids is a free service that aims to create a safe environment where children can have fun while learning.

To start using Samsung Kids, simply tap on its app icon on the home screen. If you have an Android 9 or newer device*, tap on the button via the Quick panel to set up Samsung Kids. Your biometrics or PIN is required to enter and exit the app, which means your young ones can’t navigate to other apps without your permission.

Samsung Kids comes with many helpful parental controls. For instance, you can filter content based on subject area, age and content type. You can also determine which apps, websites and contacts your children can access. Playtime limits can be set, too.

Additionally, there’s a handy usage report you can view any time to find out how much time your children have spent on the mobile device and on each activity. This will give you a better idea on what to do when you want to tweak the limits.

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY

Social distancing, fortunately, isn’t required in the digital world. With the many interesting characters specially designed for Samsung Kids, your children will have fun playing and learning with their new digital friends.

For instance, in Crocro’s Friends Village, your children can help leader Crocro and his friends design their home and play dress up.

The little ones can also spend time with Cooki in his kitchen. Through the process of feeding the doughnut lover, they will discover what makes for a healthy diet. They will also learn about good hygiene when they clean up artist Bobby, who always makes a mess when he doodles.

Screen time is a sedentary activity, which means there’s usually little or no physical activity involved. But don’t worry – in Lisa’s dance room, your children will be dancing and sweating it out with their new friends. They can even superimpose their face on a dance character.

Lisa has a music band, too, and here’s where the little ones can explore a variety of sounds, from those made by instruments and vehicles to those from animals and the human body. Additionally, you can encourage your children to use My Magic Voice to record and listen to their own voices and then surprise them by altering the voices with fun effects.

My Art Studio is another place to let your children’s imagination run free. There are different drawing tools to choose from and they can turn their art into AR (augmented reality) stickers to put on photos they’ve taken. The Camera app in Samsung Kids is walled off from your personal gallery, so there’s no worry that your photos will be deleted accidentally.

Samsung Kids also packs challenging activities to expand your children’s problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. For instance, in Crocro’s Adventure, kids will learn the basics of block coding by solving directional puzzles. They may not realise they’re learning the basic elements of programming and algorithm theory – they will just think that they’re having fun!

Samsung Kids is frequently updated with new games and activities^ that you can easily discover by swiping right to the Contents page. You can also find fresh content through the Galaxy Store for Kids that resides in the parental control menu. Charges may apply for additional apps downloaded from the Galaxy Store.

KEEP YOUR SANITY AND CARRY ON

As working and learning from home become more common, there’s increasing pressure for parents to entertain their children and fulfil their work commitments at the same time.

With Samsung Kids, your children can continue to have fun while learning, thanks to a variety of fun and enriching activities as well as interesting characters to keep them engaged.

Furthermore, through enforceable parental controls, you can rest assured that your children won’t be coming into contact with undesirable content when you take your eyes off them for a moment. Fun for kids and peace of mind for parents – now, that’s a win-win.

Visit samsung.com/sg/apps/samsung-kids/ for more info.

* For devices with a lower version of Android 9.0, you may access similar features available under Kids Mode, which can be downloaded or updated through Galaxy Store.

^ Availability of content may vary depending on country, device and ongoing maintenance.