Most families I know struggle with screen time. Televisions, phones, computers and iPads—a plethora of electronic communication and entertainment devices lure children and their parents. The use of electronics is an issue that begs for management control from this generation of parents. Obesity, sleep issues, behavioral problems, impaired academic performance, and a desensitization to violence have all been tied to over-exposure to electronics.
Sitting still is not a natural state for young children whose bodies are designed for movement. Electronics deliver great stimulation but don’t allow for reciprocal creation on the part of the viewer. Kids may be encouraged for a limited, predesigned response in video games, but lose the chance to create something new, as they do in free play.
Kids watching pixels on a screen are not watching the faces of the people in their lives. A study at UCLA separated two groups of sixth graders. They sent one group to an outdoor camp for five days with no access to electronics. The other group was encouraged to live their lives as usual, including normal use of electronics.
At the beginning and end of five days, the two groups were shown images of nearly 50 faces and were asked to identify the feelings they depicted. At the end of the trial, researchers found that kids who went to camp scored significantly higher when it came to reading facial emotions or other nonverbal cues than kids with continual access to electronics.
While we don’t have long-term studies yet on impacts of early electronic use, enough evidence exists to cause parents to limit screen time. One simple method is to eliminate background television. Children can’t screen out television in the same way adults can. If you’re not fully engaged in a program, turn it off.
Keep televisions and computers out of kids’ bedrooms. Statistics on obesity, behavioral problems, diminished interpersonal skills, and sleep disturbance are all worse in kids with electronic access in their own bedrooms.
One mom limits electronics by planning other activities, like an evening bike ride. If there’s a program kids want to watch or a video game they want to play, they postpone it to the weekend.
The world tempts kids with activities both healthy and destructive. A parent’s job is to support children in learning to make good decisions about their opportunities.
