Negative Screen Time Effects on Young Children
Statistics show that screen time negatively affects children’s learning abilities and development. “The effects of so much screen time can include speech delays, aggressive behavior and obesity.” (Lavey) Since parents play a role in how much television their kids can watch, they can minimize the chances of their brains not developing correctly. “The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.” (Kids Health) Children do
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School performance also can be drastically affected if children are exposed to too much screen time. They will not make time to do their homework, which will ultimately have a negative impact on their grades. Younger people are affected much more easily by what they see or hear on television or the computer. These things will have a bigger impact and influence on them than they would on someone older who knows better and knows what is right and wrong. There are plenty of commercials and shows on television that can be a bad influence on kids. Everything from violence and crime to drugs and sexual content can be found on both the computer and television. Even though parents try their best to teach their children right from wrong, if they see these things enough on a regular basis, it will have some kind of negative effect on them. When children see these bad things happening on television, and they see that nothing is being done to stop them, they automatically assume that it is all acceptable for them to do as well. This, again, can begin to affect other aspects of their lives negatively such as school and their behavior. Research shows that the majority of screen time has a negative effect on children of all ages. Children ranging from ages two to 11, on average, spend anywhere from 25 to 35 hours a week in front of the television, or other forms of screen time. At such young
“Television has changed the American child from an irresistable force to an immovable object.” (Peter). There was a time when all children wanted to do was to run, play, explore, and be adventurous. As time evolved, children have found more interest in television. Statistics show that a child spends 900 hours per year in school,and they spend 1,200 hours per year watching television. When asked to choose between watching T.V. and spending time with their families fifty-four percent of four to six year olds voted they would prefer to watch television. Television has changed the mindset of children over the years it has been proven that the more programs they watch, the more harmful it is to their brain development. T.V.
Television can affect learning and school performance if it exceeds the time kids need for their crucial for healthy physical and mental development. Most of children's free time, especially during the early development years, should be spent in activities such as playing, reading, exploring nature, learning about music or participating in sports. Research has shown that children's exposure to television during the preschool years is predictive of academic outcomes during adolescence. The most notable lesson about this
Most children today have access to devices such as television, smartphones, computers, and tablets. These devices can be used in a variety of ways, with both positive and negative outcomes. For example, preschool aged children may use a device to learn letters, numbers, or colors. School aged children may use a computer to conduct research, or watch an educational show. A child may also sit in front of the television for many hours, reducing physical activity, and become obese. I believe it is important for the parent or caregiver of the child to monitor the amount of screen time, as well as the content to optimize the benefits these devices can offer.
The early development stages between the ages of two and four are paramount for a child’s cognitive growth. Children are extremely sensitive to their surroundings and pick up everything that’s going on around them and that’s what helps them learn and develop. In a study, it showed that for every hour of television watched the child’s age appropriate language skills decreased. As for children exposed to constant background noises this also decreased their cognitive and language skills as well. This early and over exposure to TV, video games, and computers, deprives the child from sensory, hearing, and touching skills that they would have learned in the real world without so much exposure. This is also the time of developing co-ordination skills, as well social and motor skills. These skills are valuable in long-term and short-term physical and mental health (Negative Effects of Media). Tv is used as a baby sitter now to keep kids busy while parents do work around the house, this is a destructive act being done. Tv is generally always on in households, leaving kids to be able to watch whatever is on tv rather than educational shows that parents should be providing. The social intelligences
Technology has been part of our daily live more frequently than before. Screen time has been more popularly used on kids and adolescents. On a daily bases many kids seem to spend more time inside on their tablets, instead of having to spend time with other kids. This is a problem that is becoming more popular over the years,on whether kids need to spend that much time on technology or not. Parents either seem to have strict technology usage, or they either don’t. There has always been a huge controversy with experts, who either think that screen time is beneficial or could cause problems later on in life. There are many views towards this topic, from hurting kids brains, to helping them during school, and socially.
According to some research this is another reason to reduce screen time. Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a non-profit research and production institute, suggested that little ones spend less than half the time in front of screens watching educational material between the ages of 2 and 10. We can only assume that statistic will deplete in time. Family income cannot be helped but is also a determining factor. According to the center lower income families had their children doing better with watching educational screen activities then higher income families. I take that as less means leads to more interaction and attention to the better educational route and more leading to lack
Some people say that too much screen time for children is bad for their health. Others argue that it's perfectly fine for children to enjoy some time with the TV. I personally believe that in moderation, TV isn't that bad. In the article, It's Time to Let Go of Screen Fears, it states that kids who watched telvison with parent showed signs of decreased anger and fear. In my own experience, I've seen the positive affects that TV has on children. Although it can be a good thing, if you don't limit your time with the TV it can be harmful.
Screen time cuases alot of issues. Many issues can be physical and metnal. Both mental and physical takes a toll on kids. Why? Because according to a scientific journal artical, the light
According to the A.C. Nielsen Company, kids watch TV for an average of 3.5 hours per day. That’s roughly half the amount of time that they spend in school on a typical weekday. It amounts to about 24 hours per week, which means that TV has a significant influence on what kids are learning – or not learning.
Next I'd like to talk about the physical activity going on during screen time. The issue is that there is no physical movement required. This is bad because if you're spending seven hours a day in front of a screen you're not recieving any exercise. Too much screen time has been linked to childhood obesity, and childhood diabetes. This is because there is no exercise involved with playing on a tablet or sitting in front of a couch. The child eats throughout the day and never burns off any calories resulting in obesity.
The purpose of the research article from the scholarly journal Childhood Education (2014) is to discuss the arguments currently surrounding the topic of media, technology, and screen time (MeTS) and its use with young children, and create an international dialogue on what steps should be taken in the future on how to responsibly use MeTS in a way that is productive and developmentally appropriate. The authors first discuss what global issues currently stand referring to MeTS, citing statistics of television, video game, and computer exposure among young children (children younger than 6). It is described that in the United States alone, “83% of children under 6 years old use…two hours with a television and DVD player, 1 hour with video
There have been a multitude of studies in recent years on the subject of screen time and the effects it can have on children of all ages. Previously, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that children from 0-2 years of age not be exposed to any screen time at all (American Academy of Pediatrics, [AAP], 2016). This included television, video games, smart phones, tablets, movies and computers. The AAP has recently changed its recommendation, though, stating that “Some media can have educational value for children starting at around 18 months of age, but it 's critically important that this be high-quality programming, such as the content offered by Sesame Workshop and PBS.” (AAP, 2016). The recommendation for children ages 2-5 is still the same, at one hour of high quality programming a day, and for children age 6 and older, to use consistent limits on the
Children from two years old to the age of ten years old can be effected in a negative way. Sometimes parents give their children a tablet or their cell phone to entertain them while they try and get something important done. Sometimes they are out in public and their child is being too loud so they pull out the phone and let them watch T.V. on it so they can become quiet. The American Academy of Pediatrics explains, “Screens are distractions, not tools to soothe children. Television is not a “babysitter,” so parents should enforce rules about media use” (Roman). From the start of a child 's life parents should be careful about letting kids have the ability to watch too much tv or spend too much time staring at any type of technology. Parents tend to use their technology to keep
With the advancement in technology it has become common for infants, toddlers, and young children to be exposed to electronics such as televisions, computers, and videogames for hours at a time. Environmental factors affect children in significant ways. The effects the media and screen time children are revealed to influence their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Television and media can both hinder and encouraging their growth. It is important for guardians, caregivers, teachers, whomever has a child they look after or care for, to make accommodations to construct the best possible environment for children to flourish in. At such a young age, these young humans are like sponges, they absorb much of what surrounds them. Because of this, the importance of trying to make it possible that they are mainly witnessing things helpful to the development of the child and thereby, benefiting them later in life.
This view is supported by Webster-Stratton who described television as “rendering children passive” and referred to research indicating that excessive exposure to television and computers “place children at risk for harmful effects on their physical, social and psychological development”. As a way of mitigating this, she suggests watching television or computer games with the child in order to address any issues that might arise or to identify inappropriate content (2006, p234-236).