The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time – meaning TV, video games, and other screen media – for children under age 2, and less than 2 hours per day for older children. How much are they really watching? Twice that. Preschool children on average spend 32 hours a week with screen media…more than twice the recommended upper limit.
What’s more, forty percent of 3-month-old infants are regular viewers of screen media, and 19% of babies 1 year and under have a TV in their bedroom! Why does a 1-year-old need a TV in their bedroom? This just puts the bad habit in motion, as the more time children engage with TV, the harder time they have turning it off as they get older.
Research over the years tells us that screen media in the younger years causes a number of issues down the road, including childhood obesity, sleep disturbances, attention span issues, and aggression.
Research shows:
– Screen time for children under 3 is linked to irregular sleep patterns and delayed language acquisition.
– The more time preschool children and babies spend with screens, the less time they spend interacting with their parents. Even when parents co-view, they spend less time talking to their children than when they’re engaged in other activities.
– Toddler screen time is also associated with problems in later childhood, including lower math and school achievement, reduced physical activity, victimization by classmates, and increased BMI
– The more time preschool children spend with screens, the less time they spend engaged in creative play – the foundation of learning, constructive problem solving, and creativity.
– Children with 2 or more hours of daily screen time are more likely to have increased psychological difficulties, including hyperactivity, aggression, emotional and conduct problems, as well as difficulties with peers.
School-age children are also at risk from excessive screen time. As children grow older, so does the time they spent in front of screen media, especially in the form of video games. In a survey of children ages 8 to 18, nearly 1 in 4 said they felt “addicted” to video games. On average, they spend 4 1/2 hours per day watching TV, 1 1/2 hours using computers, and more than an hour playing video games.
Research shows:
– Adolescents who watch 3 or more hours of television daily are at especially high risk for poor homework completion, negative attitudes toward school, poor grades, and long-term academic failure.
– Adolescents with a television in their bedroom spend more time watching TV and report less physical activity, less healthy dietary habits, worse school performance, and fewer family meals.
– Children with a television in their bedroom are more likely to be overweight.
That’s a lot to take in, but reducing screen time can help prevent childhood obesity, improve school work, increase physical activity, and even help prevent behavioral problems. Bottom line: Limit your child’s TV and computer time, and get the TVs out of bedrooms now!
Reference: Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
