In today’s tech-dominated era, Parents face a new challenge - managing kids screen time. In this blog, we will explore the impact of screen time on kids and good practices to be followed.
Screen time in Singapore:
In a 2018 Digital Impact Report by Singtel, it was found that kids (8-12 years) spent an average of 35 hours screen time for entertainment which is 3 hours more than the global average. A great increase is expected in the last 5 years due to surge in home-based learnings by Covid-19.
Impacts of Screen time:
1. Mental Health Implications
Exposure to gadgets from a young age will lead to behavioral issues like OCD as a child may impulsively repeat behaviors that are trigged by video game and tailored YouTube content.
2. Physical Health Problems
It is recommended that a kid gets to spend at least 3 hours outdoors daily for improved critical thinking skills. However, children’s keen fixation on screen fosters inactivity which leads to increased risk of obesity.
3. Poor Eyesight
You are likely to have heard of “Blue Ray”. Blue Rays are high energy visible lights produced by devices that will easily penetrate through your child’s eye. Prolonged exposure to these rays will cause symptoms of sore eyes, nausea, and headaches.
Good Practices with Eyelet’s Help:
1. Be a Role-Model
Children's often adopt practices from prominent figures of parents and teachers. To set a good example, as parents, you, should limit your screen time and engage in family bonding activities for your child’s holistic development.
2. Spend time outdoors
Spending time outdoors improves your kid’s vision when dopamine, a happy hormone, from sunlight prevents myopia.
However, a good sunglass is needed as kid’s are more vulnerable to UV rays than adults. Eyelet SunPlus, an attachable sunglass for children’s glass, ideally offers outdoor benefits with UV protection.
3. Invest in Good Spectacles
You should aim to bring your kids for eye check-ups once a year for early vision problem detection. If new glasses are needed, Eyelet has the perfect solution for you. Eyelet’s frames provide stability to prevent misalignment from your child’s active routine and our patented technology helps slow down myopia progression.
References Used:
2018 National DQ Report:
Elizabeth Chuck, Dec 14 2022, nbcnews.com, Research finds more negative effects of screen time on kids, including higher risk of OCD
Jill Christensen, May 28 2021, mayoclinichealthsystem, Children and screen time: How much is too much?