HOW TO KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM SCREEN

A common sight these days is to see kids with their heads down, glued to gadgets lost in a virtual world missing out on the excitement and adventures of the real world. A recent study indicates a 100% increase in the screen time of kids since the lock-down started. The study also points out that this has become a worrying trend with 84% of parents surveyed expressing concern about the increasing screen time with children spending over 5 hours online. Quite shocking indeed!

As parents, while we all know how harmful excessive screen time can be for kids, we are all guilty of using it more often than not as a diversion tactic. What many of us do not realize straightaway are some of the longer-term impacts of doing so, that a growing body of research now indicates.

Tunnel vision

Excessive exposure limits kids’ ability to observe, experience, and learn from the typical everyday activities and their surroundings affecting their overall development.

Delayed Language Development

Studies have shown that kids can learn between three to five languages by the age of five by interacting with others – parents, teachers and care givers. Studies now indicate a correlation between children who spend higher percentage of time glued to screens during early elementary school years and their relative lower performance at reading & vocabulary tests.

Impact on Sleep

Another important downside of excessive screen time is the impact on their sleep. A study states that infants who are exposed to screen-time in the evening showed significantly shorter night time sleep than those who had no evening screen exposure.