Why You And Your Child Need To Limit Screen Time

Screen time, everybody has their own reason why you should or should not spend time on your Tv or any other electronic devices. Since 2016, researchers have led a number of wide-ranging reviews of the scientific evidence on the impact of screen time from infancy to early adulthood.

These included risks such as obesity, reduced sleep, low physical fitness, anxiety and depression. We also looked at the impact of recreational screen time on social and emotional as well as cognitive and language development, well-being and educational attainment.

Limiting screen time

Guidelines from Canada, Australia, and South Africa recommend that recreational screen time should be avoided in the under two’s, limited to one hour per day in two to four year-olds, and to two hours per day in five to 17 year-olds.

Based on our collective experience in developing these guidelines it’s clear that these limits on recreational screen time are needed for a number of reasons.

First, the evidence suggests strongly that limits are required. The recommendations to limit screen time were based on a rigorous, widely-accepted, and evidence-based approach. This included systematic reviews, critical appraisals of the evidence, national and international consultation and review, and transparent reporting.

Second, less recreational screen time is clearly better. There is evidence in support of the specific time limits recommended and our wide consultation with stakeholder individuals and organisations – including parents and families – suggests that they find time limits helpful.

Third, our recommendations that recreational screen time should be limited are consistent with other recent and thorough reviews of the evidence conducted by authoritative bodies such as the WHO and the World Cancer Research Fund. These reviews highlighted the important role of recreational screen time in the development of obesity, many cancers and myopia.

Taking a laissez-faire approach to screen time would be to ignore the wider context. This is that modern childhoods are characterized by low physical activity, excessive sitting and time indoors. Children and adolescents also suffer from poor motor skills, high levels of myopia, increased risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension

Screen time harms can be indirect as well as direct – recreational screen time increases with age and as it does it displaces more beneficial forms of sedentary behaviors such as reading. Screen time also displaces physically active play, and sleep.

Recreational screen time may seem to be an inevitable part of modern life. But even from infancy and early childhood, we should all be concerned about the potential for harms – at least until new, robust evidence demonstrates no harm. The most prudent approach would be cautious, attempting to follow recent evidence-based guidance that recreational screen time should be restricted.