We are living in a modern world, where we have so many things for our entertainment and knowledge. Nowadays, children spend most of their time in front of television, computers, laptops, and other electronic media. This is affecting their physical, psychological, and mental health as this is the main reason behind problems like obesity, aggressive behavior, and sometimes, even drug addiction. More than 90 percent of infants and toddlers plug into the world of television long before they enter schools or pre-schools.
According to experts, the first three years are the most crucial time of a child’s life as this is the time for major development of brain and other parts of the body. Television, internet, and other electronic media can create hurdles in mental and physical development.
These things can divert the mind of a child and can get in the way of playing, interacting, learning, and healthy social development. Too much screen time can affect the overall health and development of the child as the child will not find playing outside interesting. This can affect his learning, thinking, ability to do work, playing with friends, spending time with family, and social interaction.
How too much screen time can affect a child
Too much screen time can affect your child in several ways and some of them are as below:
Obesity
If a child spends most of his time in front of the screen this can further lead to obesity as the child will find sitting front of the TV more interesting and this will interfere his physical work. Less movement can lead the body to store more fat, and will lead to the child getting overweight. Obesity is known for its bad health effects like stress, high blood pressure, and other health problems.
Lack of confidence
As the child grows older, his overweight can make him shy and low confidence level will not allow him to interact with other children. This can lead to different psychological problems in the child like depression, stress, and related problems. As a result, the child might suffer in the field of academics and sports, and even social life.
Mental disturbance
If a child does not interact with others, then he may feel low in every way and this can lead to emotional and mental disturbance in the child.
Lack of social interactions
More screen time can create a hurdle in the social development in the life of a child. Social development is an essential part of anybody’s overall growth and development. The child will not be able to represent himself in the society and this can lead to inferiority complex in the child.
Tips for parents
- Parents can play an important role in the overall development of their child as they can help their child in several ways. Minimizing the screen time can be very beneficial in order to make a child healthy and ready to learn.
- Parents can tech their child the importance of eating together as a family this will help them to make their child spend more time with the family. As a result, this will lead to strong parents- child relationship.
- Exercise is an essential part of life and parents can encourage their child for several family activities like family rides, regular exercise, and adventurous trip.
- They can also tech their child how to behave and interact with people and other children. Parents can boost the energy and confidence of their child by offering him physical and moral support.
Summary
Electronic media is a great medium of knowledge but it can also affect health, growth, and development of your child. Therefore, it is important for parents to reduce the screen hours of their child.