When my 5-year-old frantically ran into the room shouting for the ipad charger, I knew it was a wrap. The shear panic was a tell tale sign that he suffered from screen time overload. I had to do something fast. There was no telling what would happen if my husband and I didn’t do a better job limiting our children’s use of electronics.
We are not the only family dealing with this dilemma. In fact, there’s been an ongoing debate over how much screen time kids should get everyday. According to a report by the World Health Organization, children under a year old should not have any screen time, and kids between the ages of two and five should have no more than one hour of screen time per day. When it comes to older kids, parents should use their discretion.
How Much Screen Time Should Kids Get?
We keep the rules pretty uniform in our household since our son’s mini-meltdown. The kids are allowed to use the tablet only on weekends for about an hour. As far as TV goes, we tend to be a bit more lenient during the week. I’d be lying if I claim otherwise.
Honestly, I work a crazy early morning shift, which requires daily one to two hour naps. As long as they complete their homework, I allow them to quietly watch TV.
Anastasia is always on the hunt for slime recipe ideas on YouTube, and O’Shea enjoys playing with his trains while watching Ryan’s Toy Reviews. Dad or Grandma are normally around to keep a close eye on things while I get some much needed rest.
But, we tighten the rules on weekends focusing more on physical activities, especially now that the weather is getting warmer.
How Much Physical Activity Should Kids Get?
The report suggests that children between one and two-years-old should get at least 180 minutes of physical activity each day. Kids between two and four should only be allowed to sit still for no more than an hour.
It also recommends that infants should get a minimum of 30 minutes of tummy time each day. The report claims that children involved in physical activities grow up healthy as result.
WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that “early childhood is a period of rapid development and a time when family lifestyle patterns can be adapted to boost health gains.”
This further drives home the point a healthy and active lifestyle could ward off health problems like obesity down the road. But, there’s certainly no need to panic thinking that you just set your kids up for a lifetime of health issues.
We also have to take into account that reading with our children or playing board games are non-physical activities that also serve an important purpose. These types of tasks exercise their minds and are just as important for their development.
As long as we are mindful of their screen time activities, they should be fine. After that incident with our son panicking over a charger, we’ve scaled back his use of electronics significantly. The same goes for us too.
Adults are just as guilty. In addition to some of us spending hours in front of a computer screen at work, we also tend to overindulge on social media; not to mention the amount of hours we spend binge watching our favorite shows on Netflix.
So, think of these recommendations the next time you pick up your smartphone or plop your kiddo down with one. Who knows? It could bring us all one step closer to less screen time.
