Wellness Blog

Let us start with an honest moment. How many times today have you handed your child a phone or tablet just to get five minutes of quiet? A couple of taps on the screen have become the new solutions for keeping the kids jogging, entertained, and relaxed. 

However, should you be noticing that your child is experiencing a meltdown when the screen is switched off, cannot sleep, has been complaining about eye strain or headaches, or simply seems to show less interest in everything else, it may be time to consider making a sincere assessment of how screens have a place in their everyday existence.

Childhood obesity statistics show that between 8 and 12 years old, children spend between 4 and 6 hours on screens every day, and adolescents spend even more. Overuse of a screen has been associated with lack of sleep, attention, and anxiety, as well as language development in children at an early age.

Let’s discuss what the simple steps are that parents can take to control their children's screen time. 

Why Do Screens Affect Kids So Deeply?

The brains of children are still in need of development, and screens, particularly the high-paced content and the interactive games, are highly stimulating. They stimulate dopamine, which is the feel-good chemical associated with reward and craving. This is why it is so difficult to make a child leave the screen; it feels like depriving a child of something they really need. Neither is it bad behavior, but brain chemistry. This is why it is much easier to react to the situation with empathy instead of frustration.

And what's the normal amount of time on the screen?

The WHO suggests complete screen time abstinence in children younger than 2, except during video calls with relatives. One hour a day is the maximum amount of time allowed to children between the ages of 2 and 5. For older children, it's more important to ensure that screens do not substitute sleep, physical exercise, homework, and actual discussion with family and friends than to strictly limit screen time.

Did You Know? 

Blu-ray screens are blocking the melatonin, the hormone that helps us to sleep. A child can sleep up to one hour later even after using the screen 30 minutes before going to bed. One of the rules I have found effective is to avoid screens an hour before bedtime.

It Is About Quality Just as Much as Quantity

Not all screen time is the same. When a child is watching an educational documentary or undertaking a learning activity that is interactive, he is experiencing something quite different than a child who is just scrolling through the videos, taking hours to do it. Watch things together, where appropriate, ask them questions about what they see, and assist your child to relate what they see on the screen to the real world they are in.

Screen-Free Zones - Without Making It a Battle

Instead of turning the screens off all the time, A method that hardly ever works and, very often, backfires, attempt to make particular spaces and periods during which the screens are merely non-existent. The dinner table. Bedrooms at night. This includes the first 30 minutes after school. Those families that relax into these limits over time with straightforward explanations are likely to meet much less opposition than families that make rules out of thin air.

Here Is the Part Parents Do Not Always Want to Hear

Children watch adults. Your child notices when you check messages in bed, scroll while they talk, or use your phone at dinner. Honesty with yourself and your screen time habits, and modifying them with your child, is one of the best things you can do. This is not the issue of perfection. It is concerned with being deliberate.

When Should You Be Concerned?

When your child is extremely irritable when removing screens, loses interest in previous favorite activities, and has continuing problems with sleep or concentration, these are symptoms that would be worth paying attention to. They don't mean something's wrong, but they do mean it's time to change the balance and consult a pediatrician.

Helping your child build a healthy relationship with technology now is one of the most valuable things you can do for their future well-being. At GKNM Hospital, our paediatrics and child wellness team is always here to support you, with practical, real-world advice, not just protocols.