It’s a Must to Limit Your Kids’ Screen Time

It’s time to unplug and PLAY outdoors

According to the health authorities, nowadays children spend an average of 7 hours per day on electronic screens of some kind. That’s almost a third of a day. Can you imagine your child watching television almost as much as he sleeps? It’s a lot! This includes time spent on desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and television. It’s a must that parents and guardians monitor their kids’ viewing times.

Practical Tips You Can Do to Improve and/or Lessen Your Kids’ Screen Time

Use well-accepted rating systems for shows, games, and movies. This prevents your child from viewing unsuitable content. Pick quality programs and games with positive learning and limit their viewing to those.
Turn off the television during dinner time. It's important for families to get together during dinner time and have family conversation. Having the TV on takes your attention away from each other and from eating.
Don’t start the habit of watching television or surfing the Internet at an early age. The earlier you start your kids on them, the more difficult it will be for you to wean your kids off them.
Keep the lines of communication between you and your kids open. You must teach your kids how to best deal with the media content they’re constantly being bombarded with. This will set them up better to deal with them as adults.
Make sure that there are rooms in your home that are screen-free zones. Your children’s bedroom should be at the top of the list!

Encourage your children to contribute to setting the table, or simply assisting you with cooking and other household activities. Spend quality time with them on the little things. They will remember those most when they grow up.
Never make screen time a form of reward for doing something good. On the other hand, don’t use it to blackmail, coerce or trick your kids into doing something either.
Be a role model for your children. Limit your OWN screen time. And yes, remove the TV in YOUR bedroom. No excuses!
Provide other enjoyable activities in your home. Alternative activities your kids can do:

The Negative Effects of Too Much Screen Time

Too much screen time can lead to the following problems:

Eating and sleeping disorders. Instead of focusing on eating their food, children tend to be distracted with what they’re watching. This may make them overeat or develop an unhealthy relationship with food. It can also disrupt their sleeping times. The blue light coming from that big screen television keeps their mind awake. Remember, it’s only during sleep that children and teens grow to their full potential. See our article on Bluelight for more details on how the blue light of electronic screens affects your health.
Obesity. You don’t want your kids to be the future couch potatoes right? Don’t make them adopt a sedentary life style. Keep them active and engaged in the world around them instead of a screen. Bedroom televisions are a big contributor to weight.
Difficulty in school. It’s homework versus the television or the Internet. What could have been time devoted to studying is diverted to endless posting on Facebook.
Attention problems. Children who watch more television develop attention problems while at school. They have difficulty concentrating on their schoolwork.
Behavioural problems. Kids can pick up bad behaviour from inappropriate media content like aggression and violence. This can teach them that aggression is a normal way to deal with things.
Internet addiction. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as Internet addiction. Your teen may be suffering from it. While the criteria for diagnosis of this disorder are still being developed, it's important to work closely with a qualified practitioner to address this problem in your child.

Recommended Screen Times

Age Group	Recommended Duration of Screen Time	Comments
Under 2 years of age	No screen time.	Children in this age group need two-way interaction with a parent or guardian which cannot be replaced by screens.
2 - 5 years of age	Not more than 30 minutes per day.	Children under 5 with more than 2 hours of screen time had difficulty relating with friends and displayed emotional problems and hyperactivity.
Under 12 years of age	Not more than 1 hour per day.	Same as above.
Adolescents	Not more than 2 hours per day.	Adolescents with more than 3 hours of screen time showed negative attitudes toward school and classmates.
Copyright © Return2Health Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Turning the television on or playing a movie on your laptop may seem easier when it comes to entertaining your kids. But in the long run, it’s not. The foundation of learning will always be creative play, not screen time. Figure out ways you can diminish the screen time of your kids. As a start you can try out our suggestions above. Remember, you didn’t have Internet, smartphones, tablets, and cable television when you were young, and you turned out fine.