The American Academy of Pediatrics and other health experts:
discourage all screen media use (except for occasional video chatting) for all children under the age of 18 months
recommend that, if introduced, children from 18 months to 2 years have no more than one hour per day of high-quality programming in the company of others, not alone
recommend that children ages 2-5 years old also be limited to no more than one hour of high-quality programming per day
recommend for all children, ages 5 and over, that recreational screen time be limited to 2 hours or less per day
Why are healthy screen habits important?
Researchers are finding more and more evidence of the adverse effects of too much screen time. Such as:
decreased physical activities which leads to obesity
increased occurrence of nearsightedness (myopia) eye problems
increased aggressive behavior and parent-child conflicts
decreases in social interaction leading to social isolation and depression
decreased quality and duration of sleep
decreases in cognitive development
decreased school engagement and performance
decreases in language skills development
decreases in motor skills development
underdevelopment of interpersonal social skills
lack of empathy
more violent and negative risk-taking behaviors
stunted maturity
poor self-image and body image issues
spending less time outside which has many negative physical, mental and emotional health consequences
can lead to psychological disorders such as screen addition and internet gaming disorders
More than 1-2 hours per day of recreational screen time can lead to some of the negative effects listed above. Researchers estimate that most Americans over the age of 5 are spending 6 or more hours in front of screens each day.
Wouldn't it be better to see young people outdoors, exploring and learning about the wonders of the natural world?
Resources for more information:
Psychiatry.org - Internet Gaming Addiction
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