Screen time for children has always been up for debate. Will it delay my child’s development if he watches TV? How much is too much? What can I do with my child instead of letting him watch TV or watch videos on my iPad? From the TV to even our smartphones, screens are everywhere and it has become impossible to avoid them. For a parent who needs to juggle the world and more, television and online videos are understandably an easy way to multi-task and simultaneously keep your child entertained; however, some recent studies have shown that screen time isn’t beneficial for infants and young children. Screen time strips away the human interaction and experience that infants need most during their first year of life. Infants lose the stimulation, communication, and growth they gain from human interaction. When infants watch too much television or videos, they tend to have a difficult time developing skills in attention span, focusing, and learning. The constant changes on screen do not provide infants with enough time to process the sensory information on the screen. It is important to note that a television playing in the background can also share the same effects as a child directly watching a screen. Research is showing that although too much screen time can be harmful, limited amounts of screen time do not pose any harm to a child’s development as long as the content is slowly paced and allows gaps of time within the show for the child to process the information. Since there are several disadvantages to screen time, it is always good to keep a list of fun non-screen time activities on hand and always remember that just talking to your child is more beneficial than having him watch television.

1. What are the disadvantages of allowing my child too much screen time?

2. What are activities I could do with my child to avoid screen time?

1. What are the disadvantages of allowing my child too much screen time?

As mentioned previously, excessive screen time does not provide infants and children the necessary experiences and stimulation for ideal development. Some of the disadvantages include:

• Difficulty with sleeping. Screen time can also make it difficult to sleep for adults. The blue screen on devices impacts our sleeping patterns and may make it harder to fall asleep. The blue light has been shown to cut down on the production of melatonin, the national sleep inducing hormone our bodies make that allows us to fall asleep easily. It is best to keep these devices away from your children before bed. As a mom or dad, bedtime might be your only time to relax and enjoy a couple videos on your phone or tablet. If this is the case, tt is recommended to use a blue screen filter (in the settings of most phones) that changes the color temperature of the screen to a warmer tone more suited for sleep.
• Addiction. Just the same way adults now show a developed addiction or obsession for their smartphones, children are more vulnerable and can quickly become addicted to screen time and the happiness they temporarily feel from watching or playing something on a screen.
• Disturbing content. With how ingrained the internet and media has become in our daily lives, it has become increasingly easy for children to watch explicit content not intended for youth, such as violence. Exposure to violent content at a young age makes a child more prone to anxiety, aggression, lack of empathy, etc.
• Lack of physical activity. The more a child is allowed screen time, the more they are prone to sit for longer periods of time and not get the amount of physical activity they need, which can lead to health issues such as obesity.

2. What are activities I could do with my child to avoid screen time?

Some fun, engaging activities for you and your child include:

• Talk to your child. The mere act of talking to your infant and young child provides much more stimulation and learning opportunities than your child could ever receive from any television show or online video.
• Read books together.
• Sing songs together and listen to music.
• Create a space that allows your child to engage in sensory play. You can purchase a sensory table and constantly add new materials to the table to give your child a fun, engaging experience that helps develop his or her brain and senses.
• Visit local museums.
• Make a trip to the zoo.
• Visit the library weekly and let your child pick out his or her own stories to read with you.
• Visit the park.
• Play turn-taking games like zingo, the snails pace race, or “go-fish.”
• Go on nature walks or stroller rides together, stopping to talk about what you see.
• Plan short play dates with a friend or neighbor.
• Let your child help you in the kitchen with the toddler kitchen stool. He can be up to the counter with you and watch you prepare the salad for dinner or make a yummy snack. Perhaps he can help stir in ingredients with your help. See the photo above for an example. Here is a link for a toddler kitchen stool: https://www.amazon.com/GuideCraft-Kitchen-Helper-Limited-Black/dp/B00CH9SKU4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1530923397&sr=8-2&keywords=child%2Bkitchen%2Bstool&th=1

Have fun!