Screen time is detrimental to whole child health and vision

The lack of physical activity and abundance of screen time are two of the biggest obstacles to good health that our children face.

Today’s students are less active than ever before. A recent study in Preventive Medicine showed that American 19 year-olds are as inactive as the average 60 year-old. As a result of both inactivity and excessive screen time, childhood obesity is on the rise leading to conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor self-esteem, lack of socialization skills, and mental health problems as well as other physical problems like myopia.

Sitting too much can be considered as dangerous of a risk factor for health as smoking, while excessive screen time is leading to a dramatic increase in nearsightedness. According to the Vision Impact Institute, physical activity can improve whole child health and vision.

Too much screen time can also have a detrimental effect on the overall physical health of our children.

Today’s children are spending more and more time in front of a screen, much of it in the name of learning. In 2010, just over 28 percent of the world’s population was affected by nearsightedness and is expected to rise to nearly 50 percent by 2050. Additionally, computer vision syndrome is a real problem as kids 8-14 years old spend six to nine hours per day on digital devices.

How to decrease screen time and increase physical activity:

Setting healthy limits and getting regular physical activity improves whole health and vision for the whole family.

• Find out how much screen time students get at school or daycare.

• Set limits on screen time at home.

• Designate a few screen-free days each week.

• Encourage kids to play outside and take frequent breaks.

• Set screen-free zones in the bedroom or at the dinner table.

• Model behavior by limiting your own screen time.

• Make physical activity part of your family’s regular schedule.

• Challenge your family to go Screen-Free from April 29 - May 5.