preview

Too Much Television On Children And Technology

Decent Essays
Open Document

Adults have been worried about their children watching too much TV since, well, forever. For decades, Americans had only one or two TVs in their home. Now a single household might have dozens of them around the home. But the times have changed and in actuality, we are all surrounded by screens nearly all the time from television, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and video games. “The American Academy of Pediatrics claims that children spend an average of 7 hours a day on what it terms “entertainment media,” and that includes TVs, computers, phones, and other electronic devices.” “The AAP also says that excessive media use “can lead to attention problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders, and obesity.” Are children spending too much time staring at screens? Should parents limit how much time children spend on technology?
“The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Society of Pediatrics state infants aged 0-2 years should not have any exposure to technology, 3-5 years be restricted to one hour per day, and 6-18 years restricted to 2 hours per day (AAP 2001/13, CPS 2010).” Between 0 and 2 years, infant’s brains triple in size, and continue in a state of rapid development to 21 years of age (Christakis 2011). Early brain development is usually determined by environmental stimuli, or lack thereof. Stimulation to a developing brain caused by the overexposure to technologies, such as cell phones, internet, tablets, TV, has been shown to be associated with

Get Access