Just How Harmful Is Screen Time For Kids? New Study Found This
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Too much screen time in kids has the potential to make it hard for them to sleep at night, raise their risk of attention problems, make them susceptible to weight gain.



Written by Prerna Mittra |Updated : January 10, 2024 10:50 AM IST

It is a known fact that screen time can be detrimental to the all-round development of a child. A new study looked at the harmful effects of screen time in toddlers, and found that television exposure is particularly damaging. According to a study published earlier this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, screen time before the age of 2 has been associated with “atypical sensory processing”, which means that how a child responds to “physical stimuli” differs from what is considered to be normal for that age.

Citing the study, a People report stated that children exposed to screen time before 12 months of age were “twice as likely to experience sensory processing differences”. According to medlineplus.gov, screen time is a sedentary activity that requires little-to-no effort. It is done in front of a screen, like watching TV, working on a computer, or playing video games. Too much screen time in kids has the potential to make it hard for them to sleep at night; raise their risk of attention problems, anxiety, and depression; raise their risk of gaining too much weight, leading to obesity.

The aforementioned study, however, focused on television and video exposure alone. It found that after a child crosses 18 months of age, “each hour of additional screen time increases the likelihood of sensory processing differences by 20 per cent”. “Digital media exposure might be a potential risk factor for the development of atypical sensory profiles,” the study, which followed 1,471 children, stated.

Sensory processing disorder (SPD)

Per the People report, differences in processing stimuli can be characteristic of ‘sensory processing disorder (SPD)’, which is a neurological condition. According to familydoctor.org, SPD affects how your brain processes sensory information (stimuli). “Sensory information includes things you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. SPD can affect all of your senses, or just one. SPD usually means you’re overly sensitive to stimuli that other people are not,” it states, adding that children are more likely than adults to have SPD.

Familydoctor.org adds that lack of sensory input can impact one’s social and emotional health. “For example, hearing loss has been shown to increase the risk of developing dementia, because it causes social isolation and depression.”

Ideal screen time

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, until 18 months of age, limit screen use to video chatting along with an adult. Between 18 and 24 months of age, screen time should be limited to watching only “educational programming with a caregiver”. “For children 2-5, limit non-educational screen time to about 1 hour per weekday and 3 hours on the weekend days. For ages 6 and older, encourage healthy habits and limit activities that include screens,” it states.

Parents must turn off screens and remove them from bedrooms 30-60 minutes before bedtime.




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Post source: The Health Site