As adults, we know that sedentary lifestyles and the smartphones we often treat like an ‘extra appendage’ aren’t doing our health any favors. But how are these habits affecting young children?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) children under 5 years of age “must spend less time sitting watching screens, or restrained in strollers and seats, get better quality sleep and have more time for active play to grow up healthy.”
When it comes to screen time and physical activity, the WHO recommends:
- Infants (less than 1 year old) should:
- Be physically active several times a day in a variety of floor-based activities, including ‘tummy time’
- Absolutely no screen time (except for video-chatting with friends and family who want to interact with the little one)
- Children 1-2 years of age should:
- Spend at least 180 minutes in a variety of physical activities at any intensity
- Sedentary screen time for 1-year-olds (i.e. watching TV or videos) is not recommended
- Sedentary screen time for 2-year-olds should be no more than 1 hour per day
- Children 3-4 years of age should:
- Spend at least 180 minutes in a variety of physical activities at any intensity
- Sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour
Additionally, below are a few of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2018 recommendations regarding children and media use (Click to view full list):
- Make your own family media use plan. Media should work for you and within your family values and parenting style. When used thoughtfully and appropriately, media can enhance daily life. But when used inappropriately or without thought, media can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime and sleep. Make your plan at HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan.
- Create tech-free zones. Keep family mealtimes, other family and social gatherings, and children’s bedrooms screen free. Turn off televisions that you aren’t watching, because background TV can get in the way of face-to-face time with kids. Recharge devices outside your child’s bedroom to help avoid the temptation to use them when they should be sleeping. These changes encourage more family time, healthier eating habits, and better sleep.
- Don’t use technology as an emotional pacifier. Media can be very effective in keeping kids calm and quiet, but it should not be the only way they learn to calm down. Children need to be taught how to identify and handle strong emotions, come up with activities to manage boredom, or calm down through breathing, talking about ways to solve the problem, and finding other strategies for channeling emotions.
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