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Screen-Free Week, April 30-May 6

Media is everywhere.

TV, Internet, computer and video games all vie for our children’s attention. The influence of media on the health and development of children is significant from 0 to 5 years of age, a time of critical brain development, building secure relationships, and establishing health behaviors.

Today’s children are spending an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media, including televisions, computers, phones and other electronic devices. There are significant health and developmental concerns related to the overuse of media including obesity, sleep issues, and developmental delays in cognitive, language and social/emotional milestones.

Here are the AAP’s Media Recommendations for Families.

Children younger than 18 to 24 months: avoid digital media use (except video-chatting).
Children 18 to 24 months of age: if you want to introduce digital media, choose high-quality programming and use media together with your child. Avoid solo media use in this age group.
Children 2 to 5 years of age: limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programming, co-view with your children, help children understand what they are seeing, and help them apply what they learn to the world around them.
Avoid:
- fast-paced programs (young children do not understand themas well)
- apps with a lot of distracting content
- any violent content.
Turn off televisions and other devices when not in use.
Avoid using media as the only way to calm your child. Only certain situations (ie. medical procedures, airplane flights) warrants the use of media as a soothing strategy. There is concern that using media as strategy to calm could lead to problems with limit setting or the inability of children to develop their own emotion regulation.
Monitor children’s media content and what apps are used or downloaded. Test apps before the child uses them, play together, and ask the child what he or she thinks about the app.
Keep bedrooms, mealtimes, and parent–child playtimes screen free for children and parents. Parents can set a “do not disturb” option on their phones during these times.
No screens 1 hour before bedtime, and remove devices from bedrooms before bed.
Children 5 to 18 years of age: Research suggests both benefits and risks of media use for the health of children and teenagers.
- Benefits: exposure to new ideas and information, increased opportunities for social contact and community participation, provide new opportunities to access information which can enhance wellness and promote healthy behaviors, foster social inclusion among users who may feel excluded due to illness, disabilities or those seeking a welcoming community.
- Risks: negative health effects on weight and sleep; exposure to inaccurate, inappropriate, or unsafe content and contacts; and compromised privacy and confidentiality.