Children and Screen Time

Home Matters Tip:

We decided when our children were babies, we were not going to have a television in the family room. Guess what? Our youngest is nineteen and we are just now considering getting one for the family room. I am not saying our kids didn’t watch television (probably too much), but by only having a few televisions, instead of one in every room, it just inhibited their access.

Screens are everywhere—computers, flat screens, tablets, cell phones—most of us reach for our cell phones or tablets before we even roll out of bed in the morning. One study I read said the average person checks their cell phone 150 times a day! I am almost embarrassed to say that I am likely in that category. 

But what about children and is too much screen time harmful for their developing brains? 

Did you know that in 2016 the American Academy of Pediatrics rescinded their long time recommendation of no screen time for children under 2 years old? Now they say no screen time for children under 18-months, unless it’s a quick FaceTime call with grandma. They go on to recommend for children 2 years old to 5 years old should only be looking a screen for less than an hour a day, and that you should be right there with them watching whatever they are watching. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, too much screen time, or poor quality, has been linked to obesity, irregular sleep schedules and shorter duration of sleep, behavioral problems, loss of social skills, violence and less time for play. That all sounds terrible! 

So, what are busy parents supposed to do? I know I was certainly guilty of turning on a movie for our children so I could do housework, make phone calls, or cook dinner. What mother hasn’t done that numerous times? 

Some experts do have some good advice for managing how much screen time your children get. 

Begin by setting rules, agreed upon (ahead of time) by both spouses. That sounds fairly simple, but what one of you thinks is too much screen time, the other might not feel so strongly about. Once you come up with the rules, have a family meeting and lay out the plan for all to see. Perhaps there can be no devices during dinner—certainly not at the dinner table. Maybe there is a designated time when everybody can be on their computer, tablet or cell phone, and then they all get turned off. Many families have a no-device-in-bedroom rule. 

All the experts stressed being a good role model for your children. If you are constantly checking your phone or are on your computer, that sets a powerful example of what is most important to you. Little eyes are always watching you, even if you don’t realize it. 

By all accounts, most children (and adults) do not get enough physical exercise. Try to get outside with your children instead of looking at screens. Go outside and toss the football around after dinner, or even take a walk around the neighborhood. If the weather is prohibitive, dust off those board games and play a game of Monopoly or Scrabble—before you know it, nobody will be thinking about social media or their email.