The time spent watching screens has a real impact on the development of the child in so many different ways. The effects depend on the age, content, context and most of all, the time spent in front of a screen. Here are some general considerations.
Cognitive development Particularly in early childhood, exposing your child to heavy screen usage has been associated with delays in language acquisition and cognitive development. Young children benefit more from playing in and discovering their environment and interaction with face-to-face exchange for language and brain development.
Physical health Increased screen time is often linked to sedentary behaviors, higher risk of obesity and is associated with health issues. Children who spend excessive time on screens tend to be less engaged in physical activity, impacting their overall health and development.
Quality of sleep Screen use before bedtime disrupts your sleep patterns. Exposure to blue light emitted by screens and lots of stimuli, can stop the production of melatonin, a hormone crucial for good sleep, leading to difficulties falling asleep.
Social & emotional development Excessive screen time has been associated with potential negative effects on social interactions and emotional well-being. Children may have fewer opportunities for face-to-face social interaction and have a lack of interpersonal skills, empathy, and experience difficulty in regulating their emotions.
Language & communication Excessive screen time may hinder the development of their language, as children learn language best through real-time interaction and engaging in conversation with caregivers. Passive screen time, where children are passively consuming content without active engagement, may not provide the same language stimulation as real-world experiences.
Considering the above, it is easy to conclude that excessive screen time disturbs the global health and well-being of your child. And when we talk about screens it is all kinds of screens (iPad, television, mobile phone…).
Even if the content is appropriate for their age, it cannot compare to the quality of a real life experience. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends establishing screen time guidelines for children based on age and promoting parental involvement and monitoring. A French pediatrician, Dr Sylvie Dieu Osika, recognised the difficulty for the parents to stop screen exposure for young people but she warns that stops the language development and creates a real addiction. She highlights the fact that different countries propose different ages of screen time exposure (in America it is at 2 and in France their recommend not before 3 years old), so with the confusion posed by all the conflicting advice, she proposes that screen usage should not be commenced until after the child begins to say a minimum of 3 consecutive words.
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