A children’s health and psychology specialist has recently released a feature article in a UK medical journal, highlighting early childhood screen time as a major contributor to both physical and mental health challenges.
A recent study in the British publication Archives of Disease in Childhood emphasizes the urgent need to reduce daily screen time and postpone the age at which children begin using TVs, video games, smartphones, laptops, and other electronic devices.
Dr. Aric Sigman, a British psychologist and child health authority, asserts in his report that there is increasing evidence connecting negative physical, intellectual, and mental health issues to early exposure to electronic screen time. He urges health advocates and government officials to take action and establish clear guidelines.
Excessive Screen Time
Sigman presents alarming statistics showing that:
- By age 10, children in the UK typically have access to an average of five different screens at home.
- Nearly one-third of American infants have a TV in their bedroom.
- Almost half of all infants watch TV or DVDs for close to two hours daily.
- Throughout childhood, children will spend more time in front of screens than they will in classrooms.
- A child born today will reach the age of seven having spent an entire year watching screens, increasing to three full years by the age of 18.
Sigman also references various studies linking attentional issues in young children to early exposure to television programming.
In his report, he advises parents who believe that educational television is beneficial for their infants to significantly limit screen time for toddlers and postpone any screen exposure until the child is at least three years old.
Strategies to Reduce Screen Time
- Turn off the television during dinner to enjoy family time.
- Involve your children in cooking or household tasks.
- Encourage your kids to read a good book, comic, newspaper, or magazine for both educational and enjoyment purposes.
- Enroll your child in extracurricular activities or sports in your community or school.
- Choose a specific show to watch and turn off the TV once it ends.
- Utilize a TV timer; when it goes off, it’s time to turn off the TV.
15 Engaging Family Exercise Ideas
- Model an active lifestyle for your kids by staying physically active yourself.
- Play tag, either indoors or outside.
- Do squats during commercial breaks while watching television.
- Hold a sit-up competition.
- Get a pedometer for each family member and have daily contests to see who can walk the most steps.
- Visit a zoo, museum, or amusement park for plenty of walking.
- Organize a hula hoop competition.
- Go jump rope.
- Make an agreement that for every 10 minutes spent on the computer, everyone must run up and down the stairs 10 times.
- Volunteer to walk dogs at your local animal shelter.
- Go on a scavenger hunt.
- Have bike races around the neighborhood.
- Choose gifts that promote physical activity, such as balls, bicycles, skates, or kites.
- Create a weekly fitness challenge for the family and display it on the refrigerator. Examples include doing 10 jumping jacks each day, performing 10 squats every time you sit down, or balancing on one leg for as long as possible.
- Keep a box of fitness equipment like balls, jump ropes, and chalk in the trunk of your car, making it easy to enjoy fitness activities anytime and anywhere.
