Screen time and children: How to guide your child
By Mayo Clinic Staff With screens virtually everywhere, controlling a child’s screen time can be challenging. To complicate matters, some screen time can be educational for children as well as support their social development. So how do you manage your child’s screen time? Here’s a primer on guiding your child’s use of screens and media. The problems with screens Unstructured playtime is more valuable for a young child’s developing brain than is electronic media. Children younger than age 2 are more likely to learn and remember information from a live presentation than they are from a video. By age 2, children can benefit from some types of screen time, such as programming with music, movement and stories. By watching together, you can help your child understand what he or she is seeing and apply it in real life. However, passive screen time shouldn’t replace reading, playing or problem-solving. As your child grows, keep in mind that too much or poor quality screen time has been linked to:- Obesity
- Irregular sleep schedules and shorter duration of sleep
- Behavioral problems
- Loss of social skills
- Violence
- Less time for play
- Preview programs, games and apps before allowing your child to view or play with them. Organizations such as Common Sense Media can help you determine what’s appropriate. Better yet, watch, play or use them with your child.
- Seek out interactive options that engage your child, rather than those that just require pushing and swiping or staring at the screen.
- Use parental controls to block or filter internet content.
- Make sure your child is close by during screen time so that you can supervise his or her activities.
- Ask your child regularly what programs, games and apps he or she has played with during the day.
- When watching programming with your child, discuss what you’re watching and educate him or her about advertising and commercials.
- Prioritize unplugged, unstructured playtime.
- Create tech-free zones or times, such as during mealtime or one night a week.
- Discourage use of media entertainment during homework.
- Set and enforce daily or weekly screen time limits and curfews, such as no exposure to devices or screens one hour before bedtime.
- Consider using apps that control the length of time a child can use a device.
- Require your children to charge their devices outside of their bedrooms at night.
- Keep screens out of your child’s bedroom.
- Limit your own screen time.
- Eliminate background TV.
Dr. Kleber’s takeaways: I found this article very useful. The use of cellphones, tablets and computers is becoming more and more integrated into our lives so subsequently these recommendations are ever evolving. Taking breaks from media can be very helpful for mood and to prevent depression. It seems that many children are using their parent’s phone during a doctor’s visit. Remember to have your child be present during important interactions with other people to help with socialization. It is ok if they are bored sometimes. That is when creativity can happen!