Limiting Screen Time for Your Kids
Posted: Friday, June 11, 2010
by Kathy Slattengren
Priceless Parenting
Do you feel your kids are spending too much time watching TV, playing video games and being on the computer? Do ever find it challenging to get them to turn off the TV or computer and go outside to play? If so, join the crowd!
How much time are kids really spending with media?
The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report in January 2010 showing the average amount of time kids 8 - 18 are spending with media. These are the numbers for a typical day:
- TV (4 hours, 29 minutes)
- Music/audio (2 hours, 31 minutes)
- Computer (1 hour, 29 minutes)
- Video Games (1 hour, 13 minutes)
- Print (38 minutes)
- Movies (25 minutes)
It seems our kids may be picking this behavior up from us! A 2009 study of adults media usage by Ball State Universitys Center for Media Design and Sequent Partners reported that " In addition to the revelation that consumers in the 45-54 age group average the most daily screen time (just over 9 1/2 hours), the Video Consumer Mapping study found the average for all other age groups to be strikingly similar at roughly 8 1/2 hours. " TV accounted for the majority of that time.
Why should we be concerned with limiting screen time?
Parents are bringing a lot of concerns to me about how media is affecting their children. One mom complained that her 8-year-old son was having meltdowns whenever it was time to shut off his video games. A dad discussed the negative attitude he was seeing from his daughters - something he believes they are picking up from watching TV. Another couple shared that their daughter was more interested in playing with her Nintendo DS while on vacation than going outside to play on the beach with her cousins.
Preschool teachers are linking the aggressive behavior they see in their classrooms to what the children are watching on TV. Children act out the violence theyve seen.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement " Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the messages conveyed through television, which influence their perceptions and behaviors. Many younger children cannot discriminate between what they see and what is real. Research has shown primary negative health effects on violence and aggressive behavior; sexuality; academic performance; body concept and self-image; nutrition, dieting, and obesity; and substance use and abuse patterns. "
How much screen time is reasonable?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children 2 years old and younger be exposed to no screen time. For older children, the AAP suggests limiting screen time -- including TV, video games and computer use -- to one to two hours a day of active viewing time.
How do these recommendations compare with the amount of daily screen time your children typically have? Most parents will find that their children are far above these recommendations. Being aware of the problem is the first step in making some improvements.
What are ways to limit media usage?
If your children are old enough to discuss the issue, sit down as a family to talk about it. State your concerns and brainstorm ideas on how your family could limit media usage.
These are some ideas other families have used:
- Declare a " screen free day " once a week where nobody watches TV, uses the computer or plays video games.
- Install monitoring software on computers that allow parents to set time limits.
- Track daily media usage and stop using media after the allotted time is up.
- Set timers to go off after a media time limit has been reached.
- Turn off the TV during meals.
- Move TVs and computers out of bedrooms and into common areas.
- Plan more activities to do together like bike rides and hikes.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Those figures are astonishing! I really enjoyed reading your article, thanks.We were discussing the topic of screen time at a gathering this weekend. I was surprised to hear how many people leave the TV on most of the time for "background noise".
This is something that seems really important in a day and age when everything is done for you, and there are so many options for being entertained from the lounge chair. Limiting the screen time for my kids is something that I think will help them grow into better educated and more well rounded individuals, not to mention healthier. It can be a tough ballance between encouraging kids to take part in a wider range of activites, but still letting them watch some of what is important to them so that they can remain "informed" about the programs/games/music that are important to their generation. Thanks for this article...I wish that more people would get into this kind of thinking...you should watch an american movie called IDIOCRACY (if you haven't already seen it) its a satire about where the world is going if maybe we dont limit screen time!Thanks for your feedback Hanna. I'll check out the IDIOCRACY movie.
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