In the digital world we live in, smart devices play a big part in our lives. Even in our children’s lives.
Earlier research focused on television and console videos games, but ever since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, the focus has shifted to the screen time.
A recent ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) study and numerous research add to our growing understanding of how screen time affects children, showing that excessive screen time poses a real threat to their visual health, behavior, and cognitive and academic performance.
In this ABCD study, children who reported more than two hours a day of screen time got lower scores on thinking and language tests.
The brain scans show that children with many hours of screen time a day have a premature thinning of the cortex, the outermost layer of the brain that processes different types of information from the senses.
Other studies have found that excessive screen time can harm children’s health, leading to increased obesity and disruptive sleep.
The bottom line is – excessive screen time can negatively impact children’s ability to develop optimally. Pediatricians and healthcare practitioners can support parents by discussing potential consequences of excessive screen use and guiding them on appropriate and safe amounts of screen time.
For very young kids, the following are the American Academy of Pediatrics’ media guidelines based on recent research:
- Avoid digital media for toddlers younger than 18 to 24 months other than video chatting.
- For children 18 to 24 months, watch digital media with them because they learn from watching and talking with you.
- Limit screen use for preschool children, ages 2 to 5, to just 1 hour a day of high-quality programming.
In general, children need clear boundaries and screen time rules, especially during the school breaks.
At Vision Development Center of Lancaster, we’re here to help you and your child get on and stay on the right track, with an understanding that there is no universal formula but rather the situation- and age-appropriate guidelines one can follow.
We can help you become more comfortable addressing the roles that social media play in the most important aspects of child health and development, including minimizing high-risk behaviors, increasing academic performance and psychosocial development, and promoting healthy weight and sleep habits.
And, now is a great time to start learning about the rules of limited screen time, understanding them, and applying them so your kid can be better prepared for school in the fall.
If your child is suffering from a visual dysfunction or has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, or a learning disability, expert vision therapists at Vision Development Center of Lancaster are here to help your child with professional evaluation and vision therapy based on their particular needs.
Looking for the right vision therapy, natural ways to treat ADHD and natural ways to treat ADD in Lancaster PA? Click here to take our free symptoms survey, or call our office at (717) 656-0534 to make an appointment.