Screen Time Overload: Is Your Child in Danger?

The rise of technology and screen time among children

Since the day internet got cheaper, people have started spending more and more time on it. Also, it is getting cheaper day by day and content like web series, music, entertainment videos, standup comedies, etc are rising and easily accessible in one touch to us via mobile, TV & laptop. Now the smartphone is also a major cause for this easy accessibility. In earlier days, in a family of four to six, we used to have only one or max two smartphones but now in a family of four to six, almost everyone has a smartphone either old or new.

Since child watch their parents so they also find smartphones, laptops, and TV very fascinating. But there is also another reason for more screen time for children, parents used to provide their smartphones as that keeps children busy and parents also get time for themselves. Now this lead to less interaction with society and other family members and more engagement in social media apps like Facebook, and Instagram and Entertainment platform providers like YouTube, and Netflix. Prime etc.

All of these are keeping your and your children’s eye stuck on the screen which emits harmful blue rays. These blue rays can cause severe damage to the eyes and recently we have witnessed many cases of it. Things get worse when smartphones, mobile or Televisions are watched in the dark since children are unaware of the harmful effects of more screen time so it is the responsibility of parents to smartly restrict their children’s screen time and move toward smart living with today’s technology.

The importance of setting limits on screen time

If you do not set screen time for your child, it will impact your child’s physical and mental health. You should understand that if a child is spending more time on mobile or television then it means your child’s physical activity is less, and social interaction is less. This can lead to serious health issues in the future like obesity, concentration issues, eye diseases, anxiety, difficulty in making friends, etc.

A. Physical health implications

So far we have understood that more screen time for a child can lead to many serious issues. Now let’s understand what physical health issues a child might go through with more screen time. The most common known issue is Obesity then followed by sleep problems, damaged eyesight, and sometimes developmental problems too.

B. Mental and emotional impact

If a child is spending too much time on social media then it can impact their mental and emotional behavior. As a parent, sometimes we don’t know where our child is spending most of the time like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. So we have a blind spot on child’s social media, what kind of posts they are going through, or whom they are interacting with on social media. This is a serious issue because there is a huge possibility of a child getting cyberbullied, or caught in the traps of online predators. All this will lead to decrease mental health and can leave long-term emotional damage.

Factors to consider when determining screen time limits

How much time is too much screen time for children? This can be decided via multiple factors as mentioned below. The numbers might shock you.

A. Age-appropriate guidelines

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research, the average screen time is divided into age ranges of children’s

• Children between 8-10 years old: Six hours
• Children between 11-14 years old: Nine hours
• Children between 15-18 years old: Seven and 1/2 hours

B. Individual needs and developmental stage

We should first understand the requirements of our children. For example, if your child is curious about science, nature, and history then the internet can be a useful tool for them. They can spend time watching educational videos on YouTube or other streaming platforms. However, it is also the parent’s responsibility to understand how to create a healthy life balance for their children by setting up appropriate limits on spending time on screens.

Strategies for managing screen time

A. Monitoring and Tracking Your Child’s Screen Time

The first thing that you should do is to set clear expectations about the usage of Mobile, Laptops & TVs in-house. Make sure that your child understands the de-merits of using excessive usage using digital screens and also they should be aware of the consequences if they don’t follow your expectations.

Second, you can use parental control tools available on almost all kinds of digital devices, especially Mobile & TVs. This will allow you to track time spent by your kids on different kinds of websites and apps and accordingly, you can put restrictions and manage content access for your kids.

B. Encouraging a healthy balance with physical activity and outdoor play

Keeping a good balance between digital time and the real world is very important for children as well as for their parents. Setting up an active lifestyle and outdoor activities along with screen time is a challenging task but you can do it by setting up some goals.

You need to set a daily physical activity goal for your child. Being a parent you should understand your child’s interests and accordingly, you can set physical outdoor activities like swimming, biking, cricket, badminton, I-Spy games, etc. Make sure your child spends at least 60 min in a day on these activities every day. You can also participate in the games and become a positive role model. Always remember that If you stay active and involved in outdoor sports activity then your child will also follow your steps.

C. Promoting digital literacy and responsible online behavior

It is very important to make your child understand that the digital world is good but can also be very dangerous at the same time. We have witnessed many events of online bullying or social bullying. As per the age of your child, you need to start this conversation and tell them how they should behave on this online and social platform.

Educate your child about keeping their private information private and should never share it with strangers especially when they try to become friendly. Teach them they should always keep changing their online password and keep it strong by including alphanumeric and special symbols in their password. Tell them never to click on links that they are not aware of and never share their photos with any stranger.

From time to time monitor their digital footprint, and behavior on social media by observing the likes and comment they are posting. This will help you to understand if your kids are using these platforms in the way they are supposed to.

Final Thoughts

As your child grows, their screen time will also grow certainly. It is important to understand that after a certain age of your child, you can not have much control over your child’s screen time. So as parents, we can only educate them on the benefits and loss of spending time in the digital world.

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