Being a parent is hard in this day and age. One of the biggest concerns for many parents nowadays is screen time. Recent statistics show that a big portion of parents rely on screens when they don't have adequate childcare. In fact, 49% of parents admit they use screens daily, and not out of convenience but out of necessity.
People like to joke about iPad kids and look down on parents who rely on devices. However, one in four parents in the U.S. says they've used screens when they couldn't afford to find someone to take care of their child while the parents were busy. What's more, 34% have given their child a screen when they couldn't find any other form of childcare.
Is it ideal? No. But it shows that not all parents put their kids in front of screens out of laziness. Shaming parents for trying to get through another day with their child happy and healthy might even have a negative effect on the parent-child relationship. As one recent study suggests, the more guilty a parent feels about their child's screen time, the more stress they feel, and the more strained their relationship with the child can become.
We're not saying that children spending a prolonged amount of time in front of a screen is good. On the contrary, the general consensus among experts is that children under the age of two should not have any screen time at all. And older children should get limited screen time to around one to two hours per day.
What are the negative effects of children spending too many hours on a tablet, computer, phone, or even in front of a TV? According to the Mayo Clinic, they can become more prone to being overweight. Any time spent in front of a screen will most likely be a sedentary activity. And with one in five children and teens in the U.S. having obesity, we need to encourage kids to move more and spend less time sitting down.
Lots of screen time also messes up kids' sleeping schedules. Many adults can probably attest to that: how many times have you gone to bed at 3 AM because you just had to finish bingeing a show? Many studies have found a link between media use and delayed bedtime or decreased sleep time. When they don't get enough sleep, kids are more likely to feel fatigued and snack more, leading them to the problem above.
Prolonged screen time also carries the risk of causing behavioral problems in kids. Even we adults like to joke about how our attention spans are ruined because of smartphones and social media. Well, it might be even worse for children since their brains are still developing. Numerous studies have shown that excessive screen time causes children to have difficulty concentrating in school and performing tasks poorly.
Screen time also affects kids' emotional well-being. A recent review of 117 studies has found that excessive screen time causes kids to act aggressively, feel anxiety, and have low self-confidence. What's more, it usually acts as a vicious cycle: screen time causes these socioemotional problems in kids, but to cope with them, they turn to the same screens (phones, tablets, TVs, video games, and even online homework) and continue the cycle.
