We communicate swiftly even miles apart. We work from anywhere. We shop within seconds. We have 24 x 7 entertainment. We learn. We teach. We save. We share. We socialize. We do almost everything at the touch of our finger! The world is much smaller! Life is incredibly simpler! The digital era has unquestionably made many impossible things possible for us, the grown-ups. But how far do our children benefit from these digital inventions? Are they making our kids’ childhood healthier and easier? To be more precise about the topic we will be discussing, Is screen time helping our children? Is it a boon or bane? Of course, there are notable benefits. But do the merits outweigh the repercussions they create in our kids? Indisputably not! There are solid reasons to limit screen time for our kids. Let’s check them out!
Eminent Reasons to Limit Screen Time for your Kids
To understand why it is essential to limit screen time for your kids, you should perceive what screen time can actually do to them? Improving their vocabulary, and helping them academically are some of the benefits of screen time. But what negative effects can screen time have on your kids? Here are the 13 basic reasons to limit screen time for your kids.
1. Disrupts Sleep
With experience, we know that digital devices can turn to be addictive. Even as adults we find it hard to control prolonged use of our mobile phones or tablets. We see ourselves streaming youtube videos or scrolling through Facebook or Twitter non-stop. Obviously, kids will also be thrilled and tempted to watch their favourite shows or play their favourite games without a break.
This constant exposure to light and stimulating content from the screen will hinder their sleep. It can cause irregular sleep patterns and result in a shorter duration of sleep.
Sleep is indispensable for everyone. Lack of proper sleep can hamper your everyday life. For young children, a routine and sound sleep is adequate for good brain development. Toddlers should sleep around 13 hours while older kids should have a continuous sleep for 10 to 12 hours.
Too much screen time will disturb your little one’s sleep and affect his brain health.
2. Develops Eating Disorders
Screen time enters many kids’ life when they taste their first food. When parents are not able to make their kids eat solids, some of them tend to take this shortcut. They introduce screens very early to divert their child’s attention while feeding.
This habit, in turn, can result in some miserable outcomes. Your child will never intend to eat without a screen. Your child can become a picky or fussy eater. He or she will never show interest in food. They will be more inclined to junk than healthy foods.
A small screen which you thought came to your rescue would soon turn out to be your child’s foe.
There are many harmless ways to introduce solids and bring a love for food. Never rely on a screen to feed your child.
3. Causes Behavioural Issues
When there is no limit on screen time children start losing hold of themselves. They become addictive and aggressive. They will be out of control which could lead to behavioural issues.
Screen time emerges to be the main reason for uncontrollable tantrums. They become impatient and adamant. The little ones miss learning discipline, satisfaction and gratitude.
They never get a chance to develop self-control. These children demand to be entertained all through the day without exploring or playing on their own.
Prolonged screen time interferes with their opportunity to learn good manners, positive virtues and etiquette.
4. Delays Language, Cognitive and Motor Development
Kids focussed on a screen don’t talk much. They don’t move much except for their eyes and fingers. They don’t think much. All of these challenge their language, motor skills and cognitive growth to a greater extent.
They will face difficulties or delays in reaching their milestones. Their brain development will be hindered which actually needs good sleep, social interaction and play.
A toddler who is in the process of developing his language can do so with the help of a learning app. But communicating with an adult will teach the child a million times more rapidly and beneficially.
Read : Raising Bookworms – How to encourage your child to love reading?
5. Limits Social Interaction
They interact well with the screen. They respond to the queries the learning app throws, they engage in a gaming app and win, and they get amused by watching the cartoon characters who become their real-life heroes and friends.
They will be very good at all these. But there will be a setback in their ability to listen or respond promptly. They may not be able to make an eye to eye contact. It will be too hard for them to maintain a chit chat with family or enjoy playing with their friends.
Screen time will lessen their interest in human interaction the results of which could range from your child becoming lonely and aggressive to having learning disabilities. This is one of the strong reasons to limit screen time for your kids.
6. Inadequate Physical play
When your child is preoccupied with TV or mobile or Tablet he misses the chance to play.
Children need freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.
– Kay Redfield Jamison.
Kids learn as they play. They develop social skills, and life skills, strengthen their body, improve their fitness levels, learn new things and enjoy their childhood.
Play is the child’s occupation. Without play, your kid will become inactive and indolent and will lose the opportunity to learn and grow healthy.
7. Creates Health Issues
Those legs are meant to run, hop, bounce, skip and leap but not stay idle. Those hands are meant to play, clap, feel and hold their loved ones but not to bond only with a screen.
Kids become idle the more and more they are glued to a screen. Decreased physical activity means increased chances for health issues. They are more prone to have obesity in future.
Of course, it can lead to diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart diseases. No parent will want their kids to be lifelong patient. This is the point where we have to stop them from becoming one.
8. Diverts from Academics
Children who find fun and excitement in spending time with screens can have an immense distraction in their education. Their attention span will be alarmingly less. They cannot concentrate and stay alert listening to the teachers even for a reasonable time. Boredom catches them easily.
The academic lessons will not give the same thrill they get from playing a video game. So naturally, they will lack interest in studying.
If you are not limiting their screen time, they will start limiting their learning time.
9. Exposes to Inappropriate Content
A child should learn anything at the right time in the right way from the right person. If he or she gets to know things at an unsuitable age from an improper source in an inappropriate manner the consequences can be appalling.
Is it healthy for your child if he is viewing indelicate content or hearing unrefined dialogues? Unless you are with your kid all through his screen time or you watch beforehand and make sure it is perfectly safe for your child’s viewing you cannot guarantee if your child is exposed to the right content.
What the children watch can change or influence their needs, wants and interests. Their behaviour and character can be impaired. This is one of the compelling reasons to limit screen time for your kids to keep them safe.
Read : Saying No to your Child
10. Shuts down Creativity
Children are naturally creative. We should give them space and opportunity to thrive their imagination. Screen time undoubtedly shuts down a child’s creativity. Only when you let your child get bored will his creative senses start peeking out.
Those who don’t think out of the box are easily contained .
– Nicolas Manetta.
Do you want your child to be in a contained world not knowing or relishing the joy of exploring and inventing?
11. Affects Eye Health
Incessant exposure to the blue light from the screen can cause multiple consequences in your child. The little one will find it harder to sleep.
The child may develop computer vision syndrome the symptoms of which could be eye dryness, irritation, fatigue, blurry vision, headaches, neck aches and eyestrain.
It has not yet been confirmed that continuous exposure to screens can cause permanent damage to the eyes. Still, these after-effects can stay for a long time posing a constant threat to their visual health.
12. Impacts Natural Learning
You cannot teach a young kid through constant lectures. Children explore the world around them and learn. When they are engaged with a screen for the most part of the day they fail to explore, they fail to ask curious queries, they fail to observe things around them and thereby they fail to learn.
The right way for a toddler to learn animals or colours is by probing the things around him and questioning his parents. Learning all these basic things through an app will not give the same feel and outcome.
13. Not a Hobby
Finally, screen time can never be your kid’s hobby and it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t replace playing or singing or reading or drawing or dancing.
Before letting your kids watch that screen for most of their day, take a moment and think. Is this doing any good for them?
A hobby is something one likes to do in their free time. Hobbies can make your child grow as a person. They nurture the kid’s mental or physical health and kindle his or her thought process.
But slowly screen time is occupying your kid’s free time which is meant for a hobby. Screen time is not a fruitful hobby, it is not even a hobby.
All these reasons to limit screen time for your kids could seem to be overthought and create an intimidating effect. But these negative changes will not happen to your kids instantly. It will happen at a snail’s pace that you will not even notice until your child becomes too fragile.
By then, the impact could be far too much that you wouldn’t know how to extricate them from the after-effects of unrestricted screen time. Hence limiting your kid’s screen time carries paramount significance.
It’s hard to bring up your kids without being tampered with by digital technology in a digital era. But you can always minimize the impact with some effort. So HOW can you limit screen time for your kids? I will discuss this in detail in my next article.
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