How much screen time is too much for childen?
Chances are they may be getting too much already.
North Bay’s Dr. Paul Preston with the North East LHIN wrote a health care column titled “More Green Time and Less Screen Time” and says countless studies are calling on parents to keep the time in front of the flashing lights limited.
“No screen time for children under the age of two and one hour for kids ages two to five,” he says.
Preston says over-use causes increased behavioural problems, decreased early reading and math skills, difficulty with isolation and increased obesity and sleep problems.
He points to an example he witnessed in an airport between a child that was reading a book and another that was playing a video game the entire time.
“That kid was so frustrated and so tense, his shoulders were wrapped around his ears and the other kid was occasionally sharing things with their mother and I’m just thinking, oh my God, what a different brain development these two people are having, feet apart from each other,” he says.
Preston says parents can learn more at the Canadian Paediatric Society website which features guidelines for TV and tablet limits.