There is little evidence that screen use for children is harmful. Parents are being told to worry less as long as they have gone through a checklist on the effect of screen time on their child.
It is recommended that children should not use screen devices at night an hour before they go to bed. Experts say it is Important that the use of devices does not replace sleep, exercise and time with family.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) which oversees training of specialist in child medicine had produced guidance for under-18s. It said there was no good evidence that time in front of a screen is toxic to health as it is claimed. The college said it was not setting times limits for children because there is not enough evidence that showed screen time was harmful at any age. Instead it has published a list of questions to help families make a decision about their screen time, these questions are:
- Is your family’s screen time under control?
- Does screen use interfere with what your family want to do?
- Does screen use interfere with sleep?
- Are you able to control snacking during screen time use?
Dr Max Davie, Officer for Health Promotion for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said: “Technology is an integral part of the lives of children and young people. They use it for communication, entertainment, and increasingly in education.
“Studies in this area are limited but during our research analysis, we couldn’t find any consistent evidence for any specific health or wellbeing benefits of screen time, and although there are negative associations between screen time and poor mental health, sleep and fitness, we cannot be sure that these links are causal, or if other factors are causing both negative health outcomes and higher screen time. To help us develop a better understanding of this issue, I urge both more and better research, particularly on newer uses of digital media, such as social media.”
The recommendation to not let a child use a device an hour before bed is because it can harm sleep. The devices can stimulate the brain and the blue light produced by them can disrupt the body’s secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin. The effect on children’s health is small when it was considered next to sleep, physical activity, bullying, poverty and eating.
Dr Davie also said: “When it comes to screen time I think it is important to encourage parents to do what is right by their family. However, we know this is a grey area and parents want support and that’s why we have produced this guide. We suggest that age appropriate boundaries are established, negotiated by parent and child that everyone in the family understands. When these boundaries are not respected, consequences need to be put in place. It is also important that adults in the family reflect on their own level of screen time in order to have a positive influence on younger members.”
He goes on to explain how children watching screens can distract them from feeling full and exposes them to unhealthy food advertising. The government are currently deciding whether to ban the advertising of food and drink high in salt, sugar and fat as part of the Childhood Obesity Plan.
