New research suggests that limiting the amount of time your children use screens and media helps improve child development in multiple ways.
Mark Bertin, a developmental behavioral pediatrician, writes in Psychology Today that kids between the ages of 8 and 18 spend about an estimated average 7.5 hours in front of screens per day. He writes that this has all sorts of negative effects:
“Topping the list: obesity, poor academic performance, aggressive behaviors, attention problems, lack of social skills, and inadequate sleep,” Bertin wrote. “Having electronics in the bedroom, including television or a cell phone, may rob a child of an hour of much-needed sleep a night. Too much media time potentially displaces other healthy pursuits including physical, social, creative or academic activities.”
Also a new study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, found that kids who went cold turkey off technology during a five-day camp were better able to recognize facial expressions than kids who still used technology.
And this is good news for parents: another recent study suggests parental guidance about technology is effective:
“The study,which involved more than 1,300 third- and four-graders, demonstrated that “parental monitoring of media has protective effects on a wide range of academic, social, and physical child outcomes,” Bertin wrote.
Bertin also gives some guidance into how parents can manage their child’s technology use:
- “Set a clearly defined daily maximum for children, using timers to monitor screen time.
- Use independent sources of information about media content, such as Common Sense Media, instead of relying on the industry rating system.
- Keep screens out of the bedroom. Enhance your children’s sleep habits by powering down their exposure an hour before bedtime, regarding both television and computers.
- Have a central station in your home for all media as much as possible. A household-wide screen bedtime, with everything put into a charging station away from bedrooms, can be useful as well.
- Practice good role modeling. The best way to get screen compliance is to set a good example yourself. Consider using an app like “Moment” or “Checky” to monitor your own screen time. “
