Everything you should know about screen time

Although spending unlimited time with electronics is an excellent baby soother it's not a good babysitter. Too much screen time is like a poison for children's bodies and minds. But as recent research reported, Toddlers' Daily Screen Time Has Doubled in Past 2 Decades. That's why parents should learn more about screen time for kids and how to manage the time of their children efficiently.

What is screen time?

Screen time refers to the amount of time we spend using a device with a screen. It can be anything from a desktop computer to an iPad or a smartphone. It also includes times we spend watching TV or engaged with video calls, and hours our kids remain petrified in front of a gaming console. Recent researches say that too much screening time is not only toxic for our children's physical and mental health but also affects their grades and how they grow and socialise.

How much time do Australian kids spend on screen?

According to a report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, screen time is rising among Australian children and the majority of pre-screen children are spending a large amount of time on screen. In their long-time study, they tracked screen habits of 4000 kids from pre-school to early teens for a decade. Records showed that screen time increased consistently as kids grew older. While preschoolers spend on average 2 hours on screen per week-day, this time is about 3 hours for 12-13 year teens.

This means up to 30% of children's active time is traded off with the sedentary usage in less than a decade. TV watching is the major type of screen activity which is accounting for more than 60% of media consumption, and it's followed by working with computers and gaming. It's no surprise that teens with not enough educated parents, a TV in their bedroom, or no household rules for limiting TV watching are more likely to spend more than two hours( recommended time) watching TV or playing electronic games on a gadget or PC.

You can read the complete finding of this study, here.

What are the risks of excessive screen time?

Like anything in life, excessive use of screen devices could be detrimental for us and our kids. A lot of health problems in adults are connected with the increased use of screens. This includes but is not limited to sleep disorders such as decreased sleep duration and quality, and larger sleep onset delay due to blue light in mobile devices and eyestrain as well as headache increased likelihood of obesity how it affects our health.

While both adults and children could face problems originated from an overdose of screen devices, too much screen time could lead to a disaster in children that are still in the development stages. The British Psychological Society warns that Too much screen time for young children can unintentionally cause permanent damage to their still-developing brains. The ability to focus, to concentrate, to lend attention, to sense other people's attitudes and communicate with them, to build a large vocabulary - all those abilities are harmed.