Screen Time For Children

 This demography shows the result of a survey conducted on individuals in Norway in 2018 on daily use of screens for TV and video on the internet. 46 percent of offenders of age between 30 to 44 used the TV-screen everyday and 36 percent of offenders aged between 15 to 29 years used PC or Mac.

What is Screen Time?

Screen is the amount of time spent using a device with a screen such as smartphones , computers , televisions or video game console. 

This concept is under notable research with related concept in digital media use and mental health or psychological state.

Screen Time and Young Children :

As youngsters grow, their vision tends to grow with them. And even very young children these days are expending a notable amount of time each day gazing at screen.

Children under five years old are disclosed to more screens than ever before, counting televisions, gaming comforts, smartphones and tablets. When thinking about how much time your child spends with screens, be sure to cover all these different gadgets.

Also insert time spent viewing at home and in other locations, like child care.

Right amount of Screen Time for my Child:

• kids under five years old : No screen time

• kids from two to five years old : Below one hour per day

Screen time limits for kids:

• Don't use digital devices during family meals.

• Don't use electronics during family fun nights.

• Don't use screen media before sleeping .

• No screen time in the car.

• Discourage use of media entertainment during homework.

• Categorize unplugged, unstructured playtime.

• Consider using apps that control the length of your time a toddler can use a tool.

Negative Effects of Too Much Screen Time:

• Headaches

• Neck/ Shoulder pain

• Eye strain, dry or irritated eyes

• Reduced attention span

• Irritability

• Behaviour problems

• Educational problems

• Obesity

• Violence

• Sleep problems 

Any of those symptoms could probably affect academic performance and social interconnections.

The quick rise of myopia or nearsightedness, worldwide has been linked to increased use of and submission to electronic gadgets.

For Example:

In Singapore, sixty five percent of students in Primary six are short sighted. In the Europe and United States, where myopia rates traditionally have been lower, around half of the young adults now suffer from myopia compared with twenty five percent in 1970s.

Quality of Screen Time :

    • Viewing apps, games and programs before allowing your child to view or play with them. Better yet, observe, play or use them with your child. Organizations such as Common Sense Media can help you decide what's appropriate. 

    • When watching programs with your child, talk about what you are watching and educate him/her about advertising and commercials.

    • As your child regularly what apps, programs and games he/she has played with during the day

    • Make sure your child is close by during screen time so that you can observe his/her activities.

    • Seek out interactive options that capture your child, rather than those that just require pushing, swiping and staring at screen.

     • Use parental controls to filter or block internet content.

Also avoid fast placed programming, which young children have a hard time understanding, apps with a lot of violent media and disturbing content.

Conclusion :

Nowadays, Screen Time for Children is a hot topic. If your children are turning into technology feeding zombies, then it's time to set up some ground rules to overturn the situation. But make sure you are letting your child come on board with this decision, otherwise, they can act totally disobedient.