Less Screen makes better students; Fact or Fiction

 

Better Health With Less Screen Time

By Deborah Williams

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A Science Daily article reports that a leading psychologist and child health expert, Dr. Aric Sigman, asserts in the Archives of Disease in Childhood that it is urgent for parents to decrease the amount and to delay when children start having screen time because too much screen time can lead to serious health and developmental problems.  Sigman believes that, in light of all the evidence, leaders of medicine and government “should take a stand and set clear guidelines” on this issue.
He supports his claims by citing a number of studies that point to the connection between too much screen time and poor health.  They include the following physical health concerns:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Other irreversible effects from being too sedentary such as an increased obesity risk and reduced attention span

Sigman also believes that increased screen time is associated with psychological problems:

• Screen addiction
• Facebook depression
• Increased risk of disengagement and vulnerability to victimization after high levels of screen time in early childhood
• Poor social skills
• Impaired ability to express empathy

Parents can implement simple rules to avert these possible health problems: limit screen time and delay screen viewing until age 3.
View this BBC News report about Dr. Sigman’s findings: