Parents should consider limiting screen time for their kids.
Not only does exposure to television have no proven benefits for children under the age of 2, but it has been shown to have potentially disastrous effects on the well-being of 3-year-olds, according to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and other paediatric health agencies.
TV has 'no proven benefits' for kids under 2-years-old
The first 3 years is a critical time for brain growth. That is when babies and small children need to interact with their parents, eye to eye and not with a screen insists psychologist Dr. Aric Sigman, author of a book on the subject.
Teens in the UK and US are known to spend an average of between 6 and 8 hours a day in front of a screen. Medical professionals say that the risks of heart disease and obesity increase dramatically after just 2 hours.
"You're over the limit, sir"
The RCPCH report is prompting recommendations that doctors should create a standard time limitation on the length of time spent watching TV, in the same way that doctors have measured alcohol levels, and then isolated a specific point at which alcohol intake becomes potentially hazardous.
Having a TV on in the background is just as negative as direct viewing, apparently, and recommendations for reducing TV-related health risks include:
- Not having the TV on all the time.
- Limited viewing times.
- No TV in the bedroom.
- Parents modelling better TV habits.
- Providing children with an alternative to screen-based entertainment.
Computers and other screen-based activities were also deemed inappropriate for very young children, although critics of the report say that the findings would also make the reading of books
potentially dangerous for children.
What do you think should be the time limit on TV viewing during the week?
By: Scott Dunlop