HOW MUCH SCREENTIME IS TOO MUCH SCREENTIME FOR MY CHILD?
INTRODUCTION
“Shh! Shhh! what
is she doing?” Kelvin asked
“She is using her
phone, I think she is on Facebook as usual” his sister responded
“Mum, Mum, Mummy,
we are bored” they both chorus
“Please, I am
busy, go and watch a cartoon on T.V or play a game on your Play station”
……………………………………………………………………………………………
“What sort of
noise is this? Why can’t you kids be quiet for once?” Their daddy barked
“We are sorry
dad, we were just bored so we decided to play ‘tag’ game” the children
responded
“Now go to your
room, all of you, and watch T.V, and don’t come out until evening” Dad ordered
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“These children
will never allow someone to discuss in peace” Mrs. Okey complained
“My sister,
please don’t mind them, they are all like that. My children do the same” Mrs.
Chude responded
“Adaobi, please
go and tell your siblings to keep quiet, I have a visitor”
“Mummy, can we go
outside to play instead?” Adaobi replied
“No, don’t play
outside, all of you should go and watch T.V in the sitting room” Mrs. Okey
responded
Turning to her friend, Mrs. Okey says
“Television has to be the next best thing after a fat bank account, it is every
mother’s saving grace, hahaha, hahaha”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Is she right?
Is the T.V Screen really our saving
grace?
Is it really ok for our kids to sit
glued to the TV screen watching programs for hours?
Is it possible that several hours of
sitting before the screen could be harming our children?
If too much screen time is harmful to
our kids then, is the “peace” it affords us as parents worth the harm it does
to our children?
Join me on this piece let’s look at
the dangers of too much screen time for our children, how much screen time is
too much screen time and as we share healthier alternatives (activities) to
excessive screen time.
WHAT IS SCREEN TIME
Wikipedia defines Screen time as the amount of
time spent using (watching) any electronic device with a screen like
smartphones, computers, television, or video game console. In most of our homes,
one or two or even all of these gadgets are present and available for the kids
to use anytime and anyhow they like.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is strongly advised that children below 18-24 months should not be allowed to use a screen of any kind. This stand is corroborated by WHO. The screen can only be introduced when a child is 2 years and above and even then the screen view must be, timed, structured and purposeful. Children of different age ranges have different recommended daily screen time schedules. The chart below is a recommended guide for screen time for your children.
Screen Time Chart
World-leading
brain scientist Patricia Kuhl, who runs experiments with over 4,000 babies
yearly says they have discovered that babies do not learn from machines rather
they learn from human interaction. It has been proven that off-screen
experiences for toddlers, enhance, their cognitive, socio-emotional, and
language development skills
Children do not
get the skills that they require to thrive on the screen (Wendy Ologe). The
screen captivates the attention of the child so much that when it is taken away,
they find it hard to concentrate on anything else.
According to a 2019 citation by WHO on
the topic “Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for
children under 5 years of age,” it was noted that for children to grow up
healthy they must reduce their sitting time which is often spent in front of
the screen and play more and sleep well. This guideline was developed by a team
of WHO panel of experts
Even though our focus is on children but
statistics have it that over 23% of adults and 80% of adolescents are not as
active as they need to be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle and this
accounts for over 5 million deaths all over the world, yearly
The negative
effect of too much screen time is too dire to be ignored. Let’s look at some of
them
DANGERS OF EXCESSIVE SCREEN TIME
It has been
discovered that screen use beyond the recommended screen time has adverse effects
on children. Let’s look at some of these effects.
Ø Loss Of
Focus And Concentration - Excessive screen time for children
reduces the attention span of children, especially in class. Notice how focused
children are when they are watching the screen, it captivates and holds their
attention so much that anything that is not on the screen will not hold their
focus and concentration. So when you complain that your kids don’t concentrate
in class, remember that you share in the blame because you exposed them to too
much screen.
Ø Eye
Problems: Screens emit blue light and children’s eyes
don’t filter it well. The blue light that the screen emits causes retinal
damage (known as phototoxicity) in your children’s eyes and causes blurry
vision. New studies suggest that this might cause permanent eye damage. Some
studies believe that constant use of the screen can lead to an increase in the
occurrence of the eye defect “Myopia”
(Nearsightedness).
Ø Inability
to Attain Developmental Milestones: Toddlers, who
are exposed to excessive screen time usually have delays in the attainment of
their developmental milestones, especially in the area of cognition and
language development. A test carried out on excessive screen users found them
to score very low in thinking and language tests.
Ø Interference with Sleep Time and Sleep Quality: In
humans, the production of the hormone, melatonin
which is responsible for sleep, usually begins in the evening. When children
are exposed to screens at night times, the blue light emitted by the screen
inhibits the production of melatonin, and this delays sleep, causing the brain
to be highly alert and the body less ready to sleep. This will affect overall
alertness the next day and will lead to a befuddled mind and foggy brain.
Ø Premature cortical thinning of the brain: When some 18-year-olds with gaming addiction
were observed it was discovered that they had lower grey matter volume in so
many vital parts of their brain. Grey matter is the outermost layer of the
brain and it contains many neuronal cell bodies. It occupies the regions of the
brain responsible for memory, self-control, decision-making, emotions, speech,
muscle control, and sensory perceptions like seeing and hearing. So these
abilities will be greatly hampered.
Ø Lack Of Social Skills Due To Social Isolation: Children who are glued to the screen which
is an elusive environment (unreal world), get cut off from the real world and
lose out on social interaction with real people (family and friends). So you
will notice that when they encounter people their communication skills are
usually poor. This social isolation is
also linked to high rates of emotional problems like moodiness, depression, and
suicide. Research has shown that children who engage in activity-based programs
are more likely to live longer and healthier.
Ø Lack of Executive Functioning Skills: Executive functioning skills are the necessary
skill your child requires to be able to thrive and succeed in life. Most of
these skills are learnt as a child interacts with others, and his environment, and
as he encounters challenges and leverages the lessons and knowledge he has
acquired to proffer solutions to those problems. Examples of these executive
functioning skills include; critical thinking, problem-solving, self-control,
time management, etc.
Ø Less Family Interaction and Bonding Time: In so many homes there is rarely a time set aside for bonding and interaction because everyone is busy with the gadget. The father is on his computer system, the kids are either watching T.V or playing a game on their game console and the mother is busy with her phone surfing social media spaces. Everyone is in his/her world alienated from each other. This is quite detrimental as it is impacting on the family structure. Children don’t confide in their parents whom they perceive as being too busy and teachable moments are missed out on.
Ø Screen Addiction.
This is an extreme condition because research has proven that screen addiction
causes the same harm to the brain as cocaine addiction does. Some children are
so addicted to the screen that taking the screen away from them causes them to
be disoriented. What’s more, recent studies have linked high screen exposure of
children of about 1 year to the development of autism spectrum disorder at 3
years and above.
Other effects include; excessive
weight gain (obesity,) due to less physical activity, poor posture especially
for phone and tablet users who always bend when they are using it, overactivity
of the brain, etc.
The list is endless. Most research is
ongoing to discover other effects if there is of excessive screen time for
children.
STEPS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE SCREENTIME REDUCTION AND REGULATION
v Connect with your children and be involved in the plays and off-screen activities you introduce.
v Create a screen time checklist. This checklist is a guide that details all the activities they must carry out before they get a chance to be on the screen. Screen time should also have its time duration. Depending on the area in which your child is in dire need of development, you can structure the guide to strengthen those areas. If for instance, you want to strengthen your child’s executive functioning skills, adding cooking to that list would be a good idea. If it is in the area of reading, then adding a reading-related activity is a good option.
v Place a limit on screen time access and ensure
they comply. You could also place a curfew. Like “no screen 1 hour before bedtime
or during exams period”, “no screen while eating”, “no screen during bedtime, etc.
v Keep T.Vs away from the children’s room and for
your older children educate them on gadget use, also educate them on good
online behaviour
v Also model appropriate screen use as the adult
in the home.
v You could also try watching with them as much
as you can. It helps you put a check on what they watch, and how long they watch
and you can also spot teachable moments in the program to teach them
v Go big on exercise, healthy nutrition, and
sleep.
v If they need the screen to do school projects
and homework, encourage them to take frequent breaks. The American Optometric
Association recommends the 20/20/20 rule. This rule says that you must look
away from the screen after every 20 minutes and focus on an object that is at
least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Healthier Alternatives to
Screen time
There are so many highly beneficial
activities you can introduce to your kids when you reduce screen time so they won’t
be bored and idle. Some of them include;
·
Educational Games - Jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, Sudoku, building
with Lego, Charade, Spot the difference, chess, scrabble, etc.
·
Arts - Writing, reading, journaling, drawing, painting, crafts making,
Origami
·
Indoor
Physical Activities – Dancing, cooking,
aerobics, house chores, etc.
·
Outdoor
Physical Activities- Biking, racing,
playing tag, jumping rope,
·
Recreational Activities – Visit to the park, short walks.
·
Spiritual Exercises – Praying, Bible study, Meditation, etc.
The list is inexhaustible, think and
be creative. You could also do some research to get more
Chess game Puzzles Praying Biking
Conclusion
Years from now children will suffer severely
from lack of focus and concentration and other fallouts of excessive screen
time. We need to start correcting this anomaly that has made parents resort to
using the screen as nannies or pacifiers or worse still as a show of affluence
because our children will bear the brunt of our ignorance. Like I said before the
skills that your children need to thrive in this 21st century are
not found on the screen, they are learnt as your children interact with their
social ( human) and physical environment.
Quite insightful! Many thanks Annie
ReplyDeleteI am glad you found it valuable.
ReplyDelete