Spending less time on electronic devices.

By Stacey Kearney

In today’s digital age a study has found that children between the ages of two and eight are spending an average of two hours and 19 minutes per day in front of electronic devices.

Although technology has become a great resource for learning it was recommended that for children under two should have no screen time at all and children aged 2 – 5 should have no more than one hour per day. There have been studies carried out by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry which showed that electronic devices impacted on

-Falling and staying asleep

-Social interaction

-Social awareness

-Attention

-Physical activity

-Understanding what is real in the world

An effective way to reduce a child’s screen time is to try and make sure that they have a desire to do other activities. This could be through physical and hands on activities which are age range appropriate such as;

-Reading

-Board games

-Jigsaws

-Outdoor play

-Independent / imaginative play

Adults should set a good example for children by using their own devices less when young children are around. This could be having a specific time throughout the day when devices are “off limits” for example during lunch or before bed.

Further information and effect ways to manage your child’s screen time can be found at:

https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a556933/ways-to-manage-your-toddlers-screen-time