Too much screen time causes behavior problems in children

We know that spending too much time on social media and with technology can have a negative impact on the physical and mental health of adults, and that children who spend hours glued to screens fare no better. A new study from the CS Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan shows that the amount of time parents spend looking at their own screens has a devastating impact on their children’s mental health and development.

What the researchers found is that the more time parents spend on their phones and other devices (even the TV), the less meaningful interactions they have with their children. When a child’s time with her parents is interrupted by technology, the child feels frustrated and unimportant. This makes the child feel the need to act to recover the lost attention, most of the time in a negative way.

What the study warns

The study looked at 170 two-parent households in the United States with children as young as three years old. Parents were asked about their personal use of smartphones, laptops, tablets and others – how they use them, when they use them, for how long – and the research focused primarily on how use disrupts family time, such as checking messages of text during dinner. or during game time.

Parents in the study were also asked to recall how often their children cried, were hyperactive, irritable or moody, or generally acted up or misbehaved during the past two months. After adjusting for stress, anxiety, income, education and other parenting factors, the study found that even a small number of disruptions in parent-child engagement due to technology are associated with parenting behavior problems. children.

Although the researchers say they can’t assume a direct correlation between children’s behavior and their parents’ level of technology use, they do agree that a relationship certainly exists, particularly between a child and his mother.

Other health effects of spending too much time in front of a screen

It is clear that spending too much time in the virtual world instead of the real world has detrimental effects on the health and well-being of adults, adolescents and children. Some other negative impacts of spending a lot of time on our devices are:

– Vision and eye health

– Mental health and depression.

– Cardiovascular health and increased risk of diabetes.

– Neck, back and other musculoskeletal problems due to poor posture

– Brain development and learning problems.

– Attention deficit problems.

– Sleeping problems

Despite all the positive attributes of technology, it’s clear that allowing it to consume your life is bad for the mental, physical, and emotional health of your entire family. So the question remains how to reap the benefits of technology without letting it get in the way of a happy and healthy home. (23)

How to protect yourself and your family from the negative effects of excessive use of technology

As already mentioned, technology isn’t all bad, but when it starts to take away from you meaningful interactions with your kids, something needs to change. There are plenty of ways to still enjoy technology without it taking up your family’s time.

Limit screen time for everyone.

Many parents limit the amount of time their children spend on the computer or in front of the television, but what about themselves? Creating rules for everyone in the household, including yourself, and sticking to them ensures that you have uninterrupted quality time with your children each day.

There are no phones at the dinner table.

Dinnertime is often one of the few times busy families have each day to spend together to chat, educate themselves, and share stories about their day. Having phones, televisions, or other forms of technology at the table creates distractions and discourages important conversation.

Choose other activities instead of movies..

While family movie night is fun and can be a lovely way to spend a quiet evening, the reality is that watching movies doesn’t promote conversation or interaction. Instead, why not replace family movie night with game night? This not only provides more opportunities for parents and children to talk, but also helps build family traditions and memories that will last much longer than a movie.

Get outside… and leave the phones at home!

Take time each weekend to get outside and do something as a family, whether it’s a walk, playing catch in the park, bowling, or playing miniature golf indoors if the weather isn’t right and ditch all forms of technology. at home. Or at least in the car. With no option to check text messages, emails or Instagram feeds, everyone is free to be fully present in the moment and enjoy each other’s company.

Put the phone on the plane without going anywhere.

If you find it extremely difficult to ignore your phone every time you hear a “ping,” set it to airplane or silent mode at least until the kids are doing their homework or have gone to bed.

Source: healthy-holistic-living