It’s pretty much accepted among parents that it’s necessary to limit screen time for kids, but now a new study suggests that limits on screen time for kids may be too strict.
Authors of the study believe that limits on kids’ screen time is healthy, but the current guidelines are unrealistic because screens are so much a part of daily life.
The recent research finds that most children exceed the screen time limits of less than two hours per day which are currently recommended. Screen use includes social media, school use, and mobile devices. When children spend prolonged time staring into screens, their physical and mental health is impacted. Increasing amounts of TV viewing has been linked among teen girls to increased depression and anxiety.
According to Anand Bhatt, MD, a board certified pediatrician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Irving, the two hour limit was first introduced due to concerns about the effect of TV on kids. “At that time, it was studied and determined that when [screen time] exceeded two hours, it compromised the time spent playing outside, time playing with friends, time engaging the child’s imagination and creativity, and therefore had diminishing returns,” he said.
Dr Bhatt was not involved in the recent researcfh. He believes that experts should reconsider the limit on screen time because of the use in schools with different age groups.
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