Screen time is a part of modern childhood!
Screens are not going away!
Parents need guidance and wisdom in controlling screen time.
Excessive screen time and kids’ brains are not a healthy combination.
Let’s be realistic. You’ve seen it and lived it. There are benefits of screen time. Most children are drawn to screens. Screens are entertaining. Educational apps and games are great ways to sharpen a developing brain. Screens give busy parents a break. Screens distract little ones in restaurants, on airplanes, when potty training, and when waiting is required..
However, a number of troubling studies connect delayed cognitive development with excessive time on electronic media. That’s what I’d like to share.
How long is excessive time?
A study from Health and Human Services estimates that American children spend SEVEN HOURS A DAY on electronic media. That’s a lot of time!
Very small children can get hooked on electronic media. They can unintentionally cause permanent damage to their still-developing brain. The abilities that parents are so eager to strengthen are actually harmed — ability to focus, concentrate, attend, as well as the ability to sense other people’s feelings and communicate.
Put more simply, screen time may be doing more harm than good!
How can screens hurt? Two ways …
First, the time between birth and age three is a critical period. In that period, the human brain develops quickly and is particularly sensitive to the environment. The changes in the brain during that critical period become the permanent foundation upon which all later brain function is built. For the brain’s neural networks to develop normally during this critical period, the child needs certain things from the outside environment. These needs evolved over centuries of human development.
These essential stimuli are not found on screens.
And the damage can last forever …
Electronic devices provide dozens of stimuli at the same time. Developing brains do NOT need dozens of stimuli at the same time. The ultimate shortcut tool does the work for the child…so the brain gets lazy instead of working.
To clarify, think of your child. Compare his behavior during screen time and during read-aloud story time. Listening to a story read aloud, the child must process the spoken words, visualize the images, and follow the story line. Listening, visualizing, and following involve work! The brain is working.
Secondly, the brain’s frontal lobe is the area responsible for decoding and comprehending social interactions. The frontal lobe is where we empathize, take in nonverbal cues from those around us, and learn to read the unspoken signals that add to real-world relationships.
So…when does the frontal lobe develop? During early childhood. During the same critical period of birth to age three. And its development depends on real-world human interactions.
What does this mean?
If your child is spending excessive time in front of a screen, his empathic abilities — the way you and I can read situations and get a feel for other people — may be dulled, possibly for good.
In the on-screen world, every finger swipe immediately brings dozens of stimuli. The brain responds happily by releasing the neurotransmitter chemical dopamine, the key component that is associated with feelings of pleasure. Dopamine hits can feel almost addictive. When a child gets too used to immediate response (and those dopamine hits), he learns to prefer immediate smartphone-style interaction over real-world interaction.
How much screen time should I allow?
At the most, AN HOUR. The benefit would be increased coordination, reaction time, and language skills.
But screen time should never take the place of real-world human interaction.
For little ones, for the sake of their brain development, screen time should be carefully controlled.
(Commenting on an article from Psychology Today, “What screen time can really do to kids’ brains”, by Liraz Margalit.)
