Should you limit kids screen time each day? Have your say
Parents today are faced with the daunting task of granting their children's tech wishes for smartphones or tablets, whilst also trying to manage their screen time.
Mandy Saligari, an addiction therapist, has sounded the alarm on the dangers of excessive screen time for youngsters, according to a report in the Mirror.
How much screen time is good for kids? Have your say! Join in the conversation.
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She said: "I always say to people, when you're giving your kid a tablet or a phone, you're really giving them a bottle of wine or a gram of coke. Are you really going to leave them to knock the whole thing out on their own behind closed doors? Why do we pay so much less attention to those things than we do to drugs and alcohol when they work on the same brain impulses?"
A dad voiced his apprehensions to The Mirror, saying: "We have to be very careful how long our children spend on their tablets. Any more than an hour and they get incredibly cranky and distressed when you take the device away from them."
"If my son was left to his own devices - quite literally - he would happily sit on his tablet all day if left unchecked. I think it's a serious problem these days, and one that's experienced by parents up and down the country," he expressed.
Guidance on screen time for children advises just an hour a day for those under five, stretching to two hours for kids up to 17 years old.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also advises that infants and toddlers should not be exposed to sedentary screen activities like TV viewing or stationary gaming until they hit the two-year mark.
In America, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests parents put sensible restrictions on 'tablet time'. Findings from a 2010 study conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation indicate that children between the ages of 8 and 18 indulge in entertainment media for an average of 7.5 hours per day - a figure vastly above advised limits.
A separate study published by Guildford Press Periodicals emphasised the benefits of limiting social media use to just 30 minutes a day, leading to a 'significant improvement in well-being'. Consequently, experts are advising adults to limit their screen time outside of work to less than two hours per day.
How much screen time is good for kids? Have your say! Join in the conversation.