What is unhealthy screen time?
THERE is no doubt that this is the technological age, and the manner in which children operated 10 years ago has certainly changed.
Rarely are children nowadays opting to play outside, be a part of their community scout troops, football teams, or engage in extracurricular activities; instead they spend most of their time watching television and using their tablets or whatever other electronic gadgets they may have at their disposal.
But screen time, while not harmful, has the potential to become unhealthy, and as parents it is important to know when to draw the line.
According to Dr Pearnel Bell, clinical psychologist, children should have limits on screen time, but more importantly, parents must be on guard in terms of the content of screen time as this could adversely affect kids.
“Social media has been used as a tool to lure unsuspecting teens into illicit activities such as pornography, and can lead to abduction and engagement in unsavoury practices. Screen time is sedentary and can lead to obesity and addiction. If one finds children having withdrawal symptoms when asked to stop screen time, that is a problem.”
She said that to determine if screen time is unhealthy, parents must ask themselves how their children behave when they are asked to stop viewing television or other gadgets.
“Even if they volunteer to stop, how do they behave? If there is aggressive behaviour, social withdrawal and other maladaptive behaviour, it is cause for concern. Also, ask yourself what your children are watching that is influencing their behaviour,” she said.
She said in order to foster healthy screen-time habits, your child should be limited to 30 minutes of TV or tablets or gadgets per week, and for children under two — no screen time.
Instead, Dr Bell suggested that parents should plan activities for family time such as a movie that the whole family can watch. This way you know what the children are watching, and you can limit the time they spend viewing.
She added that if children spend time talking to loved ones overseas or out of town over the Internet, that can be counted as quality screen time.
Dr Bell said it is very important that parents discourage addiction to these gadgets because it frees children to do other things.
“You could pay for this (addiction) in the long run; otherwise, children will likely develop limited social skills, become non-engaging and have a limited range of interests. Children should be encouraged to be rounded, take part in physical, emotional, social, and environmental aspects of life. Limiting screen time in order to facilitate a balanced life is useful for the healthy development of a child,” she stressed.
