How & Why to Reduce Screen Time for Kids
Our Children are our responsibility. We plant seeds inside them, then we watch them grow as we nurture them. We are, to a great extent, held responsible for who they will become (emotionally, physically, socially, psychologically and mentally).
The main processor of their whole body is their brain. This is why we should give it our full attention. The growing brain is altered by what does or does not take place during the first 6 years of the child’s age. The brain of a 3 year old is two times more active than an adult’s, thus eager and ready to learn more.
Our modern life has dehumanized our children. Unfortunately, because of our busy lives, we have relied on media and screens to babysit our children to keep them busy and entertained away from us. Children are using electronics and screens everywhere and all the time whether it is smart phones, ipads, movies, computers or video games. Media producers are quite aware that children are left watching or playing on their own with no parental guidance. Thus, they started manipulating our kids’ minds to create dehumanized and materialistic future customers out of them.
In order to ensure the best learning and brain stimulation for our children, their five senses have to be stimulated. Television only stimulates hearing and sight senses. The brain cells that are not stimulated become weak and overpowered by the stimulated brain cells. This is the reason we have so many students with problems such as ADHD, bad hand-writing and pencil grip, low creativity, artistic and imagination level, plus obesity or fussy eating and bad eating habits.
Paying attention, monitoring and discussing with our kids what they are watching prevents future problems in many aspects in life such as learning difficulties, bad sleeping patterns, social and emotional intelligence, behavioral and neurological problems.
Babies from 0-1 should not be allowed to watch screens. Toddlers can watch up to half an hour a day. Elementary children can watch up to 1 hour a day. You want your kids to learn while being entertained so choose educational shows not just entertainment shows where they may actually learn aggressive behavior and bad language.
Don’t forget that the best learning experience your child can have is through interactive play and your physical love to him/her. Play together with play dough, blocks, puzzles and board games. Do activities together like reading books, arts and crafts, cooking, skipping rope, riding a bike or simply having a walk in the club or a nice garden.
Your child will learn a lot more from you than he will from the most educational TV program. Soon he’ll grow up into a teenager when he will become almost totally detached from you and you’ll regret those opportunities that you missed earlier in his life.
Let’s invest more time and effort in our precious children because the outcome we’ll get is totally worth it.
Noha is a certified Health Coach by Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, a certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator and a passionate mother of two. Through her blog, she hopes to empower families and parents to lead a healthy, happy and well balanced life inside out.
