By limiting their exposure to screens, parents can help their children develop better habits like reading and playing outside.
Is your kid glued to a device instead of running around and having fun? According to The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight 2017 by Common Sense Media, the average daily screen use for children ages 8 and younger is 2 hours and 19 minutes. Children spend more time in front of screens as they get older; a 2015 report by Common Sense Media found that kids aged 8 to 12 spend nearly six hours per day doing screen-based activities like watching TV, playing video games, chatting online, and listening to music online. This is more time than they spend with their parents or in school. Exposure to the media can have positive effects, but there is a wealth of literature on the topic of how much and what kinds of media are good for youngsters.
Repeated research raises serious concerns:
The prevalence of obesity among young people is alarmingly high. As of 2016, 18.5% of American children ages 2–19 are obese, according to data compiled by StateofObesity.org. The percentage was only 16.7 in 2006. Experts attribute it to a lack of physical activity and poor diet among today\’s youth. Part of the issue is spending too much time in front of screens, whether they\’re for watching TV, using computers, or playing video games.
According to a 2006 study by the Centre on Media and Child Health, kids who viewed more violent media tended to spend less time with their pals than kids who watched less violent media. Television viewing has also been related to an increase in children\’s physical and verbal aggression, according to other studies.
Children who spend too much time in front of screens have \”little time for exercising their predispositions for fantasy, imagination, and creativity,\” writes child development professor and best-selling author David Elkind in his book The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier and Healthier Children.
Others have pointed out how tricky it is to establish causality between time spent in front of the TV and emotional or behavioral issues. Smart parents, however, will monitor their children for any unusual changes in behavior and limit their exposure to media if necessary.
How should a parent proceed?
What is the best approach to strike a balance between media exposure and other activities, given the plethora of media options accessible to our children today and their remarkable ability to watch TV, instant message, and listen to music all at the same time? How can you keep tabs on what your kid eats and how much? Two groups provide resources and reviews to assist parents in keeping up with the ever-changing media landscape.
The mission of Common Sense Media is to empower parents to \”make smart media choices\” for their children by providing objective, age-appropriate reviews and ratings for a wide variety of media, including films, video games, smartphone apps, television series, books, and the internet.
Peter Katz, the head of marketing for the non-profit, non-partisan group, claims that \”media is a force for negative as well as positive.\” You wouldn\’t give your kid anything but junk food, right? Children, like adults, need to limit their exposure to excessive amounts of media. Decisions made by parents should be well thought out.
Children have had it with being told they have limitations on what they can or cannot accomplish or see. Claire Green, president of the foundation, explains, \”They want to know what they can do and see. Books, media, and more are all evaluated and given ratings by Parents\’ Choice, which also hosts an annual awards show. Green acknowledges that parenting can be challenging. They need to be able to do anything from cheerleading to goalkeeping to building and repairing fences. Parents have the primary responsibility for their children\’s well-being and security; it is also imperative that they remember to lock the rear door.
Tips for limiting your child\’s screen time:
1. Know your values and make sure your children do, too:
Explain what your values are and why you are sticking to them if your child complains that all his pals are watching a TV show that contains a lot of sex and/or violence. Or, if your kid has a higher propensity for nightmares than his pal\’s, you might think twice before letting him watch scary shows just because they\’re popular.
2. Keep in mind the target audience\’s age range:
\”What\’s OK for 8 isn\’t OK for 4,\” Green explains. Consult media reviews and use your best judgment. Be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics advises against exposing children under the age of 2 to television, despite the fact that many companies are marketing films aimed at this demographic. Additionally, not all 13-year-olds can see a film just because it has a PG-13 rating, and not all younger children should either. It\’s a suggestion, and the final call is yours to make.
3. Make and follow some ground rules as a family:
It\’s like any other aspect of parenting, according to Katz. \”Limits need to be established.\” Example rules could include allowing TV viewing only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, or after schoolwork has been completed. It\’s also crucial to maintain consistency over time.
4. Curb your screen time:
Katz notes that \”most experts recommend no more than one to two hours of screen time\” (including TV, computers, social media, and video games), yet the average child spends 45 hours a week in front of a screen. When establishing standards, it\’s crucial to remember that it\’s not just television but all types of media that must be taken into account. For children to \”pull from other experiences besides the media,\” as Green puts it, they \”need to have time to go outside and play.\”
5. To exert influence over the press, use technology:
DVRs, Netflix, and Hulu all facilitate more flexible viewing schedules. Green argues that they are helpful resources because they allow parents to halt the action and have a conversation about what their children are seeing or doing.
6. Make a regular time for the whole family to watch TV:
Set aside time each week to see a movie as a family and engage in meaningful conversation about what you\’re seeing. Be on the lookout for chances to share your knowledge. Katz recommends asking students why they think the characters in the story are antagonistic to one another.
7. Kids should not have media in their rooms:
When your youngster is in sight, you may keep a tighter rein on them. A common area where parents can keep an eye on their children while they play video games, watch TV, or use the computer is recommended. Does your kid\’s room have a TV?
8. See what the professionals recommend:
Reviews of movies, TV shows, websites, books, and mobile apps number in the thousands on Common Sense Media. The company regularly updates the website with fresh opinions. The experts at Common Sense Media evaluate media with a focus on how it could affect kids\’ growth and learning. We don\’t review only pristine media,\” Katz clarifies. Critics take into account what\’s trending among children while evaluating various forms of entertainment.
The annual Parents\’ Choice Awards are given out in a variety of categories, including books, toys, music and storytelling, periodicals, video games, television, and websites, to aid parents in making educated purchasing decisions. The Parents\’ Choice Awards website features in-depth product evaluations of all the winning products.
Gold, silver honors, suggested, approved, classic, and FunStuff are just a few of the award categories. A product must \”entertain and teach with flair, stimulate imagination, and inspire creativity\” in order to be eligible for Parents\’ Choice.\” Products that portray racial or gender stereotypes or have a violent impact will not be considered. Experts in child development, museum curators in charge of educational programming, school, and daycare center workers, and other professionals in the area all contribute to the comprehensive assessment process that every product through. Green promises to get a paleontologist to assess any dinosaur-themed games for authenticity. Only 20% of submitted products end up winning.
Green explains, \”We view Parents\’ Choice as a humorous watchdog.\” The importance of playtime for children cannot be overstated. They have too much on their plates already. High-quality media can serve as a means to that end.
9. Make sure your kids are exposed to material that will keep their attention:
Green suggests trying out audiobooks. \”Storytelling is an art form. Since \”not every picture is drawn for him,\” she says, a competent storyteller can bring a child into the story while letting him utilize his imagination. A child\’s ability to focus and pay attention is honed via the simple act of listening to a story. Green observes that many youngsters nowadays lack the ability to focus on a single job because they are raised in a world where they are constantly being exposed to multiple media at once.