Reducing Screen Time in Children: A Guide for Parents

What Is the Issue With Too Much Screen Time?

Screens have become an integral part of our lives due to the frequent use of devices ranging from tablets to smartphones. Nowadays, even schoolwork and entertainment are available online making it hard to restrict children from spending extended periods on screen. While screens can be helpful in learning, even a small duration of time spent on screens can have adverse outcomes on one’s health.

The consequences of spending too much time in front of a screen are not only limited to health. Kids face a risk of developing behavioral disorders such as gaming addiction, attention deficits, and anxiety or depressive episodes. In addition, prolonged screen time can lead to physical inactivity, which increases the risk of overweight and poor sleeping patterns.

How Much Screen Time Is Recommended?

There is a defined guideline by the American Academy of Pediatrics towards young children and their interaction with screens:

• Infants and toddlers under 2 years of age should be allowed no screen time unless it is video calls with parents.
• Kids between 2 to 5 years of age should be only allowed to use screens for an hour in a day.
• Children exceeding the age of 6 should be allowed a maximum of 2 hours a day for recreational screen time.

These guidelines are imputed to ensure that children get a fair amount of sleep, exercise, and engagement in other important activities that are needed for proper growth and development.

The Dangers of Using Screens for Too Long

Attention to screens for long periods has been known to improve both physical and mental problems. A few points regarding this are as follows:

Physical: Attention to screens for too long can result in strained eyesight, headaches, and blurriness of vision. Moreover, it also leads to bad body posture and a sedentary lifestyle which increases the chances of being overweight.

Sleep: The blue light that comes from the screen interferes with the production of the sleep hormone ‘’ melatonin’’. As a result of this, the child faces sleep deprivation which affects their mood and concentration levels.

Behavioral and Psychological: If a child spends too much time during their growth spur, it can negatively impact their concentration levels and increase the chances of stress, anxiety, or even depression, particularly if this time is spent on gaming, social media, or mobile.

Tips for Limiting the Screen Time

If you are worried about your child’s phone usage, the following methods can prove to be quite successful for reducing the time spent on a phone:

• Speak About It With Your Kids: Creating a dialogue about realistic goals that could slowly reduce the amount of device usage is always a good first step. You should begin by explaining to the kids the hazards of excessive screen time and the ways they can limit it.
• Setting Educational Goals: Instead of playing educational games on mobile, parents should encourage kids to play educational games using physical board games. Playing chess is an excellent option to sharpen the mind and keep the child away from the screen. 
• Go Outdoors: Limit the time spent on devices by encouraging your child to join in on outdoor activities such as family sports games, biking, going on walks and etc. These will help in forming new habits and skills.
• Establish Device Boundaries With the Family: Assemble zones in the house, for example, the dining areas, where devices are not allowed. Doing this will enhance interactions among the family members thereby increasing the quality of time spent together.
• Implementing A New Routine: Adopting new routines can be useful. Avoid using devices 2 or more hours before sleep because doing this aids your child calm down before bed and improves their sleep.
• Fix Family Playdates: Take out a few minutes every day to engage in family activities that don’t involve the use of screens. For example, playing board games, outdoor activities or even doing arts and crafts can enhance social and even cognitive development while working to improve family bond.
• Become an Example: Enforce rules for your children to follow regarding screen time while you simultaneously set rules for yourself. Kids are more prone to obey rules when they witness their mom or dad following the same rules.
• Let Kids be Kids: Kids can be bored! In fact it is good for them to be bored. It forces them to get creative and focus on other things rather than simply staring at a screen.