Time to power off and play
A recent study showed that the amount of time children spend staring at screen has tripled in just four years. Often, kids may be sitting, reclining or lying down the whole time they are using their device. This is called sedentary screen time and, unfortunately, many children are getting too much of it. Sedentary screen time can interfere with and take time away from healthy activities in their day.
‘Screen time’ is defined as the time spent using a screen-based device, such as a smartphone, tablet, computer or television. It’s important to stress that not all screen time is unhealthy. Screens can offer an important way to learn and communicate in school and at work. They can also be used in an active way, such as playing tennis, soccer, baseball or other sports games on a device. But as screens — especially mobile devices like phones and tablets — become ubiquitous, they also become harder for parents to monitor and control.
A report by Common Sense Media found that children from lower-income homes that make under $30,000 a year spend an average of three hours and 29 minutes with screen media each day, while children from higherincome homes that make more than $75,000 a year spend one hour and 50 minutes on screens, according to the report. That means that children from lowerincome families are spending nearly twice as much time in front of screens.
We don’t know much about the long-term effects of screens — particularly mobile devices — simply because they haven’t been prevalent long enough for the research to catch up. Existing research about screen time is based on TV watching. From this research, we do know that screen-time is directly related to both physical activity and healthy eating in children, both factors that are associated with healthy weights. We also know that it’s important to set the standards for screen time early, when your kids are still young.
Fort Erie Public Library is proud to be a part of The Healthy Kids Niagara Community Challenge. The challenge stems from the Ontario government’s Healthy Kids Strategy to reduce childhood obesity rates. Niagara is one of 45 communities across Ontario taking part in the challenge. The goal is to support the well-being of Niagara’s children and create communities where it’s easy for children to lead healthier lives. For 2018, our challenge is called ‘Power Off and Play!” The aim is to encourage families and children to build a balanced day not filled with screen-time.
If you’re turning off children’s screens, the library is a great place to start. Join us for a story time (Tuesday mornings at our Centennial branch or Wednesday morning at our Crystal Ridge branch) if you have little ones, or send your tweens to tween club on Monday nights for crafts and games. Sign them up for our great kids events like Stuffie Sleepover (our next date is April 18 at our Stevensville branch). You can also always visit the library to pick out a good book to read together at home.