Kids excessive media use is not just a concern for parents. Parents, educators and pediatricians need a plan to manage the media and screen time of all children, regardless of age, warns the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Below is portions of a AAP press release regarding statistics, the need for screen time allowances, a media plan and warnings about the negative consequences of how media affects youth physically and mentally. The AAP also includes some suggestions, recommendations and guidelines for parents, educators and doctors about how to manage “media diets”, kids media exposure, and screen time exposure.
The AAP advocates for better and more research about how media affects youth. Kids excessive media use has been associated with obesity, lack of sleep, school problems, aggression and other behavior issues. A recent study shows that the average 8- to 10-year-old spends nearly 8 hours a day with different media, and older children and teens spend more than 11 hours per day. Kids who have a TV in their bedroom spend more time with media. About 75 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds own cell phones, and nearly all teenagers use text messaging.
While media by itself is not the leading cause of any health problem in the U.S., it can contribute to numerous health risks. At the same time, kids can learn many positive things from pro-social media.
“A healthy approach to children’s media use should both minimize potential health risks and foster appropriate and positive media use—in other words, it should promote a healthy ‘media diet’,” said Marjorie Hogan, MD, FAAP, co-author of the AAP policy. “Parents, educators and pediatricians should participate in media education, which means teaching children and adolescents how to make good choices in their media consumption .”
The amount of time spent with screens is one issue, and content is another. On the positive side, pro-social media not only can help children and teens learn facts, but it can also help teach empathy, racial and ethnic tolerance, and a whole range of interpersonal skills.
Pediatricians care about what kids are viewing, how much time they are spending with media, and privacy and safety issues with the Internet.
“For nearly three decades, the AAP has expressed concerns about the amount of time that children and teen-agers spend with media, and about some of the content they are viewing,” said Victor Strasburger, MD, FAAP, co-author of the report. “The digital age has only made these issues more pressing.”
The AAP policy statement offers recommendations for parents and pediatricians, including:
Kids Excessive Media Use Warning For Parents
Parents can model effective “media diets” to help their children learn to be selective and healthy in what they consume. Take an active role in children’s media education by co-viewing programs with them and discussing values.
Make a media use plan, including mealtime and bedtime curfews for media devices. Screens should be kept out of kids’ bedrooms.
Limit entertainment screen time to less than one or two hours per day; in children under 2, discourage screen media exposure.
Kids Excessive Media Use Warning For Pediatricians
Pediatricians should ask two questions at the well-child visit: How much time is the child spending with media? Is there a television and/or Internet-connected device in the child’s bedroom? Take a more detailed media history with children or teens at risk for obesity, aggression, tobacco or substance use, or school problems.
Kids Excessive Media Use Warning For Educators:
Work with schools to encourage media education; encourage innovative use of technology to help students learn; and to have rules about what content may be accessed on devices in the classroom.
Challenge the entertainment industry to create positive content for children and teens, and advocate for strong rules about how products are marketed to youth.
As the media landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, the AAP calls for a federal report on what is known about the media’s effects on youth and what research needs to be conducted. The AAP calls for an ongoing mechanism to fund research about media’s effects.
For more on Kids Excessive Media Use Warning, visit www.aap.org.
