New study shows dangers of excessive screen time
Posted January 28, 2019 10:44 am.
Last Updated January 28, 2019 5:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Is your child spending too much in front of a screen?
If so, you’re not alone and according to a new study, it could have an effect on your child’s behavioural development.
The study, found in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, examined the association between screen time and early childhood development in 2,500 Alberta homes, between 2011 and 2016.
Professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, Suzanne Tough, has a breakdown of some of the numbers.
“For some of our children, two or more hours a day at age two, and it’s up in some cases over three at age three and then it goes down to one and a half or so at age five.”
Tough said that once children enter kindergarten, their screen time is reduced as they spend more time in a social environment with different activities.
However, the study revealed that one in four kids who began school earlier this year were not adequately prepared with screen time impacting the development of motor and behavioural skills.
The study also found that when kids use any screen, whether it’s a TV, phone or tablet, it triggers a reward mechanism in the brain.
That mechanism is similar to a common trend, known as the ‘Netflix binge’.
“Children have that same trigger in their brain, potentially, as they’re developing,” said Tough, “For every half hour or 45 minutes that a child is passive with a screen, they’re not developing the other skills.”
When it comes to how to curb the amount of screen time for your kids, Tough said it’s all about going back to basics.
“We really should be going back to some of the things that intuitively are helpful for children: play, recreation, reading books, games and that the guidelines of no more than an hour of TV or screen time now is really best for children.”
Tough said that taking family-based steps to engage with technology in positive ways may be crucial to ensuring success for your kids.
