Screen time has no direct effect on children’s health, says study

Back in the day, as little kids, we all remember having limited amount of ‘television time.’ As computers made their advancements to reach our homes, our choices differed, but our parents still insisted that we stayed in front the television and computers for a limited amount of time only. Their answers to our countless ‘whys’ were almost always ambiguous. With the advent of technology, we’re surrounded by gaming devices, cell phones, tablets along with the rather traditional televisions and computers. So you can imagine the amount of pressure parents feel, to keep a check on the ‘screen time’ their children have!

Turns out, whatever the amount of pressure they felt, was a waste. Because, a recent study that was produced at The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health claims that spending more screen time doesn’t intrinsically cause any damage to a child’s health. However, the study alternatively urges parents to focus on children getting enough sleep, exercise and family interaction along with it.

The study in fact puts the onus on the parents that their technological habits can impact the family dynamics.

Instead of keeping a check of the amount of time a child is on screen, the study’s guidelines suggested to check if the screen time stopped one from doing their daily activities like sleeping, having meals properly. Apart from that, the study also warned the parents to be careful of the kind of content the children are exposed to.

“Whether a child is online for five minutes or five hours, they should be protected from harmful or inappropriate content and behaviour” said a spokesperson from the study group.

Quality does trump over quantity, yet again