Don’t let children look at screens for an hour before bed, parents told
CHILDREN should avoid screen time for at least an hour before bedtime and parents should lead by example, according to new guidelines.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) says parents must ensure youngsters are not spending too long on smartphones, tablets or watching television, which can disturb sleep patterns and have knock-on effects.
In a UK first, the college has published guidance designed to help parents manage their children’s screen time.
Following a major review, it acknowledges that high levels of screen time are linked to a less healthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle and poorer mental health.
But experts said there was little evidence that screen time is directly ‘toxic’ to health.
They stopped short of setting recommended time limits, saying there is insufficient evidence that screen time in itself is harmful to child health at any age.
Instead, parents should judge whether screen time in their household is controlled or if it interferes with family life, sleep or meal times.
Dr Max Davie, a health officer at the RCPCH, said that children learn ‘from example rather than instruction’.
He added: ‘It’s very difficult to impose [overall] strict limits on your children’s screen use if you are constantly on screens yourself. Parents need to get control of their own screen time if they are going to get control of the family’s screen time. It is much easier to be authoritative if you practise what you preach.’
Experts suggested that parents should approach screen time based on the child’s developmental age, the individual need and value the family place on positive activities such as socialising, exercise and sleep.
When screen time displaces these activities, the evidence suggests there is a risk to child wellbeing, they said.
Dr Davie said: ‘We suggest that age-appropriate boundaries are established, negotiated by parent and child that everyone in the family understands. When these boundaries are not respected, actions need to be put in place, with parents making consequences clear.’
The findings are likely to be considered by the chief medical officer for England. Dame Sally Davies is undertaking a review of the impact of technology on children’s health, and whether to set screen time guidance.
North of the Border, Dr Jennifer McGill of RCPCH Scotland said: ‘Children today are digital natives, using technology to communicate through social media, phones and games – but they also use technology to learn, with schools encouraging use in lessons and for homework.
‘Screen time is here to stay, so this new guidance aims to support parents and children to manage levels of screen time they are comfortable with.
‘Although evidence for the broader impact of screen time on child health remains unclear, we know children with increased levels of screen time are more likely to have a poor diet – and with 34 per cent of ten-year-olds overweight or obese, re-evaluating the time children spend in front of screens will be an important obesity reduction tool.’
But Professor Stephen Scott, director of the National Academy for Parenting Research at King’s College London, said the RCPCH recommendations do not go far enough.
He added: ‘The parent guidelines are sensible insofar as they go, but do not distinguish between types of screen time.
‘The notion that it should stop one hour before bedtime is welcome, but more detail on exactly how to turn off wifi access and keep smartphones out of the bedroom would help parents.’
‘Children today are digital natives’