For many parents, kids’ tech use and their screen consumption is a big issue. Considering this, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society revealed in a study 10 reasons why children under 12 should not use these devices without control. According to their study, babies from 0 to 2 years old should not have any contact with the technology. From 3 years to 5 years should only use it 1 hour a day and from 6 to 18 years only 2 hours a day.
Among the negative reasons cited by this study, we will highlight 5 that may affect your daily life. It is not about forbidding them an activity that they love for no reason but because it can cause real harm to children.
1. It affects the brain development of children
The excessive use of the technologies according to the study can accelerate the brain growth of babies 0 and 2 years of age. This could be associated with attention deficit, cognitive delays, learning problems, increased impulsivity and lack of self-control (tantrums).
2. Delay in the development of the child
The excessive use of technologies can limit movement. As a consequence, it can affect academic performance, literacy and attention. This sedentary lifestyle can lead to an increase in childhood obesity and vascular or cardiac health problems and even diabetes.
3. Alterations of the child’s sleep
Children who use these devices at night in their rooms often have more difficulty falling asleep. Parents do not usually supervise the use of technology in their rooms. That lack of sleep affects his academic performance.
4. Mental illness
Some studies prove that the excessive use of new technologies is increasing the rates of childhood depression and anxiety, attachment disorders, attention deficit, bipolar disorder, psychosis and other problems of child behaviour.
5. Too much radiation
The WHO, World Health Organization, classifies cell phones as a risk due to the emission of radiation. Children are more sensitive to these agents and there is a risk of getting diseases such as cancer.
According to the study, children who use technology too much are more passive and have problems interacting or having physical contact with other people. Our children have to spend more time playing with other children or having a conversation as a family is important for them to socialize.
New technologies are part of the lives of children today and we cannot prohibit them either. The best solution is to limit their use and the ultimate tool for this is FamilyTime screen time app.
FamilyTime – the screen time app to limit kids’ tech use
The FamilyTime app allows parents to manage the screen use of their kids effortlessly. With the app, parents can either put auto screen locks on their kids’ devices at any time for specific time intervals as per their preferences or they can lock their devices remotely when they find their kids immersed in the technology.
These are just two features that help parents manage their kids’ screen time. There are a bundle of others, such as app blocking and contact Watchlisting etc. To know more about these features and a number of others, give FamilyTime screen time app a free try.