SCREEN TIME FOR OUR CHILDREN
I am asked very frequently by parents during therapy sessions and during presentations regarding this important topic. Both the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have published “position papers” on this topic. And there are many factors to consider including the age of your child, the content of the “screen time” medium, whether you are engaged and communicating with your child during the screen time, and whether it is related to their “schoolwork”. For the purposes of this Blog post, I am not including texting between children (monitored of course by you for “cyberbullying”) on an app like “Kid Messenger”.
Between the ages of 5-17 years old, as long as your child is getting exercise and is active in other activities and has friends, one hour per day of non-violent, age-appropriate content on school nights and two hours on the weekends (but supervision of content and assessment of your child’s emotional wellbeing) is a good “rule of thumb”.
Now I have some “non-research-based opinions”. When I watch particular shows with my two young granddaughters (ages 4 and 3), I observe their response. Personally, I find “Cocomelon” a bit overstimulating for them. I find “Gabby’s Dollhouse” calms them and holds their attention. “Sesame Street” and “Mr. Rogers” remain “gold standards” in my “Granddad mind”.
For all children and “tweens”, set the “child controls” for each “app” individually. Remember, “apps” like “You Tube” use algorithms to automatically send similar content over and over. This can be problematic if your child is “glued” to the screen.
Elementary and “tween” video games that are popular and appear age appropriate include “Minecraft” and “Roblox”.
Avoid allowing your child or teen to play “first person shooter” games such as “Call of Duty” and graphic video games like “Grand Theft Auto”. (This could be another Blog Post!)
Some current survey research suggests that children and teens spend up to 6 hours a day on “non-educational” screen time. This has been correlated to numerous health and psychological well-being issues including insomnia, preoccupation with the game, obesity, anxiety and avoidance of other personal face to face interaction with other children and family activities.
While there is not an easy answer for your child, remember age, content, whether you are engaged with them during the screen time and whether it’s related to schoolwork are more important than time. Remember, monitor your child’s emotional wellbeing!
The following articles provide further information to parents for children and teens. I strongly encourage every parent to familiarize themselves with these current guidelines.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/cover-kids-screens
and
As always, if I can be of assistance to you and your child, please reach out.
Disclaimer: This blog post contains both clinical and personal opinions of Dr. Miller and is not an endorsement or discouragement from specific “games” named herein. Each parent’s personal decision should be made regarding each “screen activity” and their child.