From Your Health Journal…..”I found a great web site today called ‘Alive’ which I encourage you all to visit (link provided below), as they have some excellent articles to read, including the one being reviewed here today about limiting screen time. Modern day children have become so sedentary causing many of them to show signs for heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Technology, especially TV is keeping them on the couch rather than on the playground. The main message in today’s article review is there is mounting evidence linking adverse physical, intellectual, and mental health outcomes with early childhood exposure to electronic screen time and that health care advocates and government leaders should take a stand and set clear guidelines. Many children even have total access to tons of technology in their bedrooms, including infants – so change is needed to reverse this trend. Limit screen time by setting time limits, plan family activities, even try technology free bedrooms for kids. Help get your children on a path to better health! Please visit the Alive web site to view the complete article.”
From the article…..
A new report in the British journal Archives of Disease in Childhood says that much more needs to be done to curb the amount of daily screen time and delay the age at which children are exposed to TV, video games, smart phones, laptops, and other electronic screens.
The British psychologist and child health expert, Dr. Aric Sigman, in his report, says there is mounting evidence linking adverse physical, intellectual, and mental health outcomes with early childhood exposure to electronic screen time and that health care advocates and government leaders should take a stand and set clear guidelines.
Too much TV
Sigman cites statistics showing that
– Britain’s children have regular access to an average of five different screens at home by the time they are 10 years old.
– Nearly one in three American infants actually has a TV in their bedroom.
– Almost half of all infants watch TV or DVDs for nearly two hours per day.
– Over the course of childhood, children spend more time watching TV than they spend in school.
– By the age of seven, a child born today will have spent one full year of 24-hour days watching screens, rising to three full days by the time the child is 18 years old.
Also cited by Sigman in his article were a number of studies linking attentional problems to young children who were exposed to TV programs in early childhood.
Parents who thought educational television viewing was good for their baby were cautioned in Sigman’s report to drastically limit screen time for toddlers and to delay any screen viewing until the age of three.
Tips to limit screen time
– Turn off the TV during dinner and enjoy each other’s company.
– Let your kids help with dinner or chores around the house.
– Point your kids to a good book, comic book, newspaper, or magazine to read, either for school or for pleasure.
– Sign your child up for an after-school or sports program in your neighborhood or school.
– Pick a show you want to watch and turn the TV off once the show is over.
– Use a TV timer; once the TV timer goes off its time to turn off the TV.
To read the full article…..Click here