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Screentime Limits  

"Screen time is the amount of time that individuals spend watching television,

playing video games, and using mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices."

Create your own Family Media Plan:  click here

 

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What are screens doing to children's brains?  
 

What is the potential impact of screens on babies and toddlers?  

  • A 2023 study of over 7000 babies, published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) that greater screen time in infants (12 months) is associated with developmental delays in communication and problem-solving at ages 2 and 4.  
     

What are the benefits of limiting screen time?  (AAP)

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that TV and other entertainment media should be AVOIDED for infants and children UNDER AGE 2.  A child's brain develops rapidly during these first years, and young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens.   

  • Children over 5 and teens should engage with entertainment media for NO MORE THAN ONE OR TWO HOURS PER DAY, and that should be HIGH-QUALITY  content.

  • ​AAP also recommends that parents establish “SCREEN FREE” zones at home by making sure there are no televisions, computers or video games in children's bedrooms, and by TURNING OFF the TV during dinner. 

 

What's the impact of video game violence? 

  • "While research shows that the “majority of video game players do not go out and start shooting people,” they can exhibit "fear and anxiety (especially in children), desensitization to suffering, and, in some, increases in aggression.” 

  •  The biggest concern is that one about expectations-- “that playing such games shifts players’ ideas of what’s normal.  Those who play violent video games tend to expect the world to be a meaner place, and they become disconnected and less caring people.”        ---Dr. Michael Rich, Associate Professor of Pediatrics Boston Children’s Hospital

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Common Sense Media 

trustworthy reviews of apps, video games, movies, websites, and TV, to help parents and kids make informed decisions.  

 

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Essential Books for Kids and Teens
150+ Chances to Get Kids Hooked on Reading for Life

 

 

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