In a new set of guidelines, the World Health Organization said that infants under 1 year old should not be exposed to electronic screens and that children between the ages of 2 and 4 should not have more than one hour of “sedentary screen time” each day.
Limiting, and in some cases eliminating, screen time for children under the age of 5 will result in healthier adults.
But taking away iPads and other electronic devices is only part of the solution, the researchers said. Children under 5 should also get more exercise and sleep in order to develop better habits that will stave off obesity and diseases in adolescence and adulthood.
The key to this advice and the extant research is that just leaving small children in front of a screen alone is probably not helpful and may be harmful. It may also start building a habit and eventual addiction in those pre-disposed to that behaviour in later life. But screens be they TV's or Lap Tops, or IPads could be useful if engaged with together with a parent/carer as an interactive tool. What this highlights is the overarching context of parents/carers being busy with work and not being able to afford childcare or access playgroups/nursery groups.
Dear Steven,
Great comment! Thank you for the useful information.
I agree completely with Mr. Hassan's answer. If possible, children under 5 should not be exposed to the screen time , either with tv, laptops, mobiles or ipad. however, half an hour with any of the gadgets, leaving out mobile, either viewing a program or watching rhymes can be done with a parent or with a caregiver's company, never alone with the gadget. I find , in my clinical practice, many children with ASD are being exposed to the screen time , that too by themselves , either with mobile or with other electronic gadgets, for hours on end, either with rhymes or games. This young child is getting addicted to them and the parent is forced to give mobile, as the child would throw a temper tantrum without it. Eventually we find a child who is completely in his/her own world or is only communicating through the rhymes or characters and there is poor social relationship and a lack of attachment with human beings. They also might develop lot of aggression depending on the program content and characters they get used to, leave alone the lack of exercise or connecting to others and poor language development. Though its yet to be ascertained whether increased screen time increases vulnerability to autistic features, but its seen in many studies too that many autistic kids spend a lot of time watching TV etc.
Dear Deepa,
Thank you for the useful information and for your contribution.
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