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It is indeed true that electronics have become a crucial part of everyone’s life. Yet, we all wonder about the negative impact of high screen time on our children and us. A lot of evidence also shows the harmful effects of screen time. A simple solution to it is to cut down on screen time. It will help if you also consider learning about the adverse effects of high screen time and other tips to help limit phone usage. So, here is a look into the negative impact of too much screen time on kids.
The negative impact of screen time on children’s health
Irrespective of whether your family stares at their smartphones or the TV run in the background, high screen time is always bad. So, here are some ways how it is harming the life of your children.
- Too much screen time also means a highly passive and sedentary lifestyle. If your children sit around for a lot of time and play video games, watch TV, or check their phones, it can increase the risk of obesity. It also impacts cardiovascular health and can increase the risk of diabetes and other diseases.
- The light that comes from electronic devices intervenes with the sleeping cycle of the brain. It can prevent your child from having a good night’s sleep. Therefore, children should keep their phones out of their bedrooms and stop using them for at least an hour before hitting the bed. It will improve their quality of sleep.
- High screen time also leads to bad posture, which can cause chronic neck, shoulder, and back problems. Therefore, children should take breaks from sitting and walk around and stretch. You should always make sure that their chair provides proper back support, and the device should be at their eye level.
- Also, spending too much time in front of the screen can have a negative impact on your child’s emotional health. According to experts, high screen time and depression are connected to an increase in suicidal tendencies. It also decreases a person’s ability to read emotions generally.
Furthermore, children who have a screen time of more than two hours scored comparatively lower on language and other thinking tests. And those who have a screen time of more than seven hours experienced the brain cortex’s thinning. That area is related to reasoning and critical thinking.
Tips for reducing screen time
It does not seem that easy to limit your screen time to a few hours, but using these tips can always help you reduce your children’s screen time.
- Many parents are role models for their kids. So, they will be influenced by the good and the bad things that you do. So, always remember that you are setting an example for your kids whenever you are binge-watching a web series. Thus, keeping your TV on in the background or constantly scrolling through your phone will not help your children. It will be best to limit your screen time and let them see it. It will then set a good example.
- As a family, you should select a time for everybody when nobody should use their phones or other electronic devices. You can all use that time for some quality family bonding. These things will give everybody the chance to know each other well.
- You can always use parental control tools to limit your children’s screen time and even to block and filter unwanted content. Parental control tools like Avosmart will help you set a daily screen time limit, and after your children exceed it, they will be locked out of the particular app.
- It will be best if you also consider creating rules like electronic devices shouldn’t be allowed in the bedroom, not only phones but also other electronic devices.
Ideal screen time
Many people wonder what the ideal screen time is. Although it sounds like a relatively simple question, it depends on which screen you are looking at and why. According to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), you should avoid screens for kids between eighteen to twenty-four months. Kids above two years should have only around 1-2 hours of screen time every day. Also, adults should try to limit their total screen time after their working hours.