Improved focus, reduced screen time: How podcasts benefit children

If you think kids canrsquot sit still and listen to a podcast think again Twoyearold Aaradhya Adukia dressed in pretty pink ambles about her Nepean Sea Road residence singing ldquobrown bear brown bearrdquo to herself Her mother Dr Vanshika Adukia says she picked this up from a podcast based on a book of the same name by Eric Carle ldquoShe knows the book inside out and when she listens to the podcast she can rattle it offmdashword for wordrdquo she says ldquoThe podcast helps when we donrsquot have the book around and she wants to listen to her favourite storyrdquoWith a number of offerings like stories poems and lullabies and educational content like science and trivia childrenrsquos podcasts have emerged as a way for parents to get their children to stop staring at screens Mansi Zaveri the founder of the parenting platform Kidsstoppresscom says that an increasing number of parents are using the audio medium as a way to help their kids learnThe platform was founded in 2013 as a response to the lack of parenting information available and then branched out with its own podcasts in 2017 dedicated to simplifying current affairs for kids ldquoOur aim was to ensure that children arenrsquot left out of dinnertable conversationsrdquo the mother of two says ldquoKids should also have a say in what is happening in the world Thatrsquos why we introduced this concept of bitesized news for little mindsrdquoMansi Zaveri founder of Kidsstoppress says that children love listening to podcasts that teach them interesting trivia about the worldThe Kidsstoppress episodes are short segments of two to five minutes each and earn about 50000 to 60000 streams on average They delve into the nuances of subjects without being jargonheavy The Knock Knock jokes series is also a favourite among kids ldquoIf my kid asked me the difference between a hurricane and a tornado I would honestly have to go back and Google the answerrdquo Zaveri explains ldquoPodcasts are a way to feed their curiosity and give them precise information at the same timerdquoBut how do you get a hyperactive distracted kid to sit still and listen One approach is designing podcasts to retain attention by adding repetitive audio elements at regular intervals ldquoFor example when we talked about the launch of the Vande Bharat Express on one of our episodes we used a lot of sounds like the noise of trains running on the tracksrdquo Zaveri says ldquoThis brings the listenerrsquos attention back to the audio even if they happened to be distracted in betweenrdquoThe other method is incorporating podcasts into a routine For Rushita Sheth mother to a sixyearold listening to podcasts has become a regular fixture of the week while they drive to and from school or go on a long trip ldquoShe prefers simple factual podcasts like the Sink and Float podcastrdquo she saysKavita Rajwade and Gaurav GuptaldquoIt may seem like children arenrsquot paying attention but they can grasp a lot of informationrdquo says Vanshika AdukiaAaradhya has been listening to podcasts for eight months now while she prepares for bed or sits down with her colouring books ldquoI see her repeating so many of the things she hears although she canrsquot speak in full sentences yetrdquo Adukia recalls ldquoLast week I noticed that she was counting numbers beyond 20 which her play school hasnrsquot taught her yetrdquoAdukia who is a pregnancy and childbirth expert views podcasts as a medium to help children develop their focus and patiencemdashespecially in the absence of visual stimuli ldquoShe had to sit listen and engage with the information herself without other kids surrounding her and now shersquos perfected itrdquo she smiles ldquoChildren are a lot more perceptive to their sensesmdashincluding soundmdashthan adultsrdquoKavita Rajwade cofounder of IVM PodcastsPratilipi says podcasts can also help kids build on their imaginationmdasha challenge today because of the easy availability of visual contentIn this segment of the audience international creators dominate the market Names like But Why Brains On and Circle Round appear in the searches for lsquotop kids podcastsrsquo The top genres are stories with science coming a close second Domestically while Indian kids are consuming a lot of audio content podcast creators are few and far in betweenRajwade cites the inherent responsibility to provide appropriate informationmdashfor young and impressionable mindsmdashas the reason for this lack IVM itself did an experimental podcast during the lockdown called News Kids on the Block a bykids forkids news podcast which ran for about 100 episodes ldquoWhile we couldnrsquot continue the podcast due to logistical issues many parents loved how their children were able to disconnect from the screenrdquo she saysChimes is among the anomalies started in 2020 it is a Gurugrambased podcast platform specifically dedicated to producing content for Indian kids such as AkbarBirbal stories tales from mythology and educational audio shows Founder Gaurav Gupta says that he started the platform to address the gap in the Indian market Since its launch the volume of streams has increased 25 times overldquoDistribution platforms like Jio Saavn Gaana and Spotify now have designated categories for kids on their podcast homepages which wasnrsquot the case before We have about five to six podcasts from Chimes listed in the top 100 globallyrdquo he shares ldquoParents have started to realise the downside of video content and are looking for other ways to engage their kidsrdquoAnd itrsquos not just kids who love their pods Itrsquos helping their mamas and papas to have informed conversations with them ldquoCoconsumption is fun We sit together her in my lap and then we listen to a podcast followed by experimentsrdquo Sheth saysZaveri says that the kids surprise her ldquoThey actually reach out to me through their parentsrsquo social media and say things like lsquoHey Mansi Did you know that Crocs have 13 holesrsquordquo Zaveri laughs ldquoI feel that I too am learning a lot through these podcastsrdquo