Author: Waqar Qamar is currently enrolled in the Master Of Science in Nursing at The Aga Khan University Karachi and holds 5 years of experience in Aga Khan Hospital and Shaukat Khanum Lahore.
Screened devices are a common part of everyday activities. While screens are a part of today's culture, there are health benefits related to reducing screen time. These include improved physical health and more time to play, explore and interact with the world around us. According to American Psychological Association, childhood refers to the period between the end of infancy (about 2 years of age) and the onset of puberty, marking the beginning of adolescence (10–12 years of age). During this stage of life span, children cannot fend for themselves. They need to be guided by responsible adults.
Social learning theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. With the advancement of technology, screened devices such as computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones have become an essential part of everyday lives and people heavily rely on them, dedicating large chunks of their time to these gadgets without realizing it. When children observe their parents and other adults constantly using these electronic devices, they tend to imitate them.
Evaluating Children’s screen time
Children spend considerable time learning on computers and tablets. It is important to use break times to get in some physical activity. When the school day ends, have the plan to put away devices somewhere out of sight and engage kids in other ways. While the average time spent on screens is seven to 10 hours. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends this acceptable amount of screen time limits:
- · No screen time for children under 2
- · One hour per day for children 2 to 12
- · Two hours per day for teens and adults
Limiting screen time also helps parents keep a closer eye on what their children are experiencing on social media and the internet. Screen time affects adults the same as children. Too much screen time puts everyone at risk of obesity, and it is linked with sleep disturbances and can affect relationships. There are studies concerning the negative effects of screen time and its relationship to anxiety, depression, and attention span.
Tips for reducing screen time
These tips can help you trim children's screen time when not in school:
Accountability
A good way to begin is by involving children to set expectations and create goals to be intentional about reducing screen time. Many devices have features to set time limits for use.
Realistic Expectations
If children spend a lot of leisure time on screens, including watching TV, start by setting smaller, more attainable goals. Instead of jumping right to the recommended one to two hours or less per day, begin by cutting their current screen time in half.
Engaging with the child
After school or work, spend time each day talking face-to-face with kids and giving them full attention.
Keep devices away
During screen-free hours, put devices away or at a charging station in a common area so they are not attracting attention.
Create phone-free zones in the home
Making family meal areas a phone-free zone is an easy way to start.
Outdoor activities
Putting down the phone and taking a walk or playing outdoors increases endorphins and provides that feeling of happiness in the brain, boosting mood and improving physical health.
These are some useful tried and tested tips that have been found to be exceedingly helpful in reducing screen time among children. Making conscious efforts to do so will bring about positive change. It will give rise to more social interaction and opportunities to learn by actively engaging with the physical environment. While it may be extremely difficult, the long-term impact is truly rewarding so it is worth putting in the effort.
References:
1. Woolfolk, A. (2013). Educational Psychology (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
2. https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/play-learning/screen-time-healthy-screen-use/managing-screen-time-3-11-years
3. https://www.learningeverest.com/implications-of-banduras-social-learning-theory/
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