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TV / computer / tablet / phone use by children and adolescents

Contents

Childhood and adolescent brain development
Being a parent today - Parenting is harder than it used to be
A ‘healthy’ approach to parenting
Creating self-confident, resilient and healthy children

 

Last partial update: August 2019 - Please read disclaimer before proceeding

 

TV and computer use by young people

"Which parents in their right mind would allow a stranger into their home to teach their children three to five hours a day?  Yet television does exactly that."
                                                                                                                                                   Dr Victor Strasburger, 2000.

In modern society, children and adolescents are spending increasing amounts of time in front of TV and computer screens. In Australia, infants watch on average about 1.5 hours of TV per day, four to five year olds two hours, and 10 to 13 year olds up to four hours. While some of this is useful in that it is necessary for school or generally educational, much is not. Children do need down time like everyone else and some TV watching is fine; just as long as it is not excessive. Too much in-front-of-screen-time is associated with numerous problems, as follows

Problems with excessive computer use

• Reduced communication skills due to reduced social interaction and problems with language development due to reduced speaking.
• Social withdrawal and isolation
• Weight gain and obesity due to doing less physical activity, eating when viewing and exposure to junk food advertising
• Short-sightedness (myopia): It is thought that if current trends regarding urbanisation / indoor living and the use of computers and TVs (that require near vision) continue, then up to 50% of the population will become near sighted. The rate on 2000 was about 20%. All that is needed to prevent this is for children to spend more time outdoors and reduce time doing close-range activities, especially those related to screen viewing. Parents should aim for children to be outdoors for a couple of hours per day. This could also increase opportunities for physical activity. See section on Short-Sightedness (Myopia)
• Sleep problems. This mainly occurs when screen viewing occurs in the evening / before sleep. Reduced sleep in turn causes weight gain and mood and behavioural problems and can affect school performance.
• Posture problems
• Exposure to harmful content, especially inappropriate and excesive violence and sexual explicit material. Such exposure normalises inappropriate behaviours

Some suggestions regarding limiting child and adolescent TV / computer use.

• General screen time – Strategies / advice

• Keep recreational screen viewing by school-age children, either via TV or the computer, to no more than (and hopefully less than) two hours a day. Homework can be excluded from this time allocation but it should still be monitored. It is best to avoid too much screen homework. (This may require consultation with the teacher. Younger children are advised to watch even less. (See recommendations in box below.)
• Look for and adhere to classifications regarding the suitability of movies, TV, DVDs and computer games for children and supervise what internet sites children are allowed to access. This requires constant parent supervision.
• Do not eat meals in front of the TV. This is a time for communicating together.
• Set a good example by restricting parent time in front of the TV. Try having one or two TV / computer free night(s) each week.

Recommended recreational screen time for children
Age of child	Recreational screen time
Under 2 years	None (The exception is in communicating with family and friends.)
2 to 5 years	Up to one hour
School aged children	No more than two hours (this excludes time doing homework on a computer).

• TV use – Strategies / advice

• Plan TV use a week ahead (for adults and children).
• Younger children should need to ask parent permission to turn the TV on.
• Do not have the TV on as background entertainment. If a program is not being watched, the TV should be turned off. (This means turning the TV off once a program scheduled as part of the family’s weekly viewing is finished. A buzzer to remind parents when a child’s TV show is finished can help here.)
• Do not allow children to have a TV in their bedroom. (Unfortunately up to half of Australia’s eight to 18 year olds have a TV in their bedroom.) The fewer TVs in the home the better. Setting a good example by not having a TV in the parent’s bedroom will help here.
• On school days, the TV should not be turned on before going to school and after school it should not be switched on until homework is finished (and preferably not until it is dark).  Having an evening TV curfew can also help. (This will depend on the child’s age.)
• Do not eat meals in front of the TV. This is a time for communicating together.
• Do not consume food in front of the TV. (i.e. make the ‘TV room’ a' food free room’. ‘TV food’ is often junk snack food.)

 

• Computer / mobile phone access – Strategies / advice

• Do not allow children to use their computer or mobile phone in their bedroom. (Most mobile phones are mini-computers these days and most provide internet access.) Computers should be used in an open area of the house. This includes school laptops.
• When phones and laptop computers are not being used, have a dedicated box or table/desk area where they must be placed. (To be effective it is good for all members of the family to adhere to this rule.)
• Restrict internet use to 30 minutes per day.
• Make sure that all internet access in the home is in a relatively public place. (If a home wifi network is available in the home, this means that all laptops must be used in a 'public space' in the home.)
• Restrict access to home wifi networks.
• Discuss with children the risks associated with using social networking sites such as Facebook. Current information / advice about this rapidly changing field of cybersafety can be gained from the following web sites.
  • https://www.esafety.gov.au A site produced by the Commonwealth Government.
  • http://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au (This site is written by Susan McLean, an Australian expert in the field of cybersafety.)

How can parents accomplish the above?

• Supervision. Children need to be supervised by a responsible person when they are at home. Left alone to their own devices they will usually do what they like. Unsupervised time in the afternoon provides one of the easiest (and most used) opportunities for older children to behave inappropriately and wherever possible working parents need to ensure there is some supervision after school. Options for working parents includes having friends, neighbours or grandparents pop by or sharing afterschool care with friends. When there is no option but to sometimes leave older children unattended, a good parental tactic is to plan a degree of unpredictability into their schedules so that children know there is a chance the parent will be home earlier than expected. 'Umplanned' grandparent visits can serve the same purpose. Children also need to know there will be significant consequences for misbehaviour at these times.
• Start early. Rules for need to be started in early childhood. It will make it much easier when adolescence comes around.
• Rules. Ensure consequences and rewards for child behaviour are clearly set out, understood and adhered to.
• Think. Think ahead and schedule other family activities, especially ones children enjoy, at times when TV / computer use is more likely or at times when inappropriate programs are on. Provide rewards for good TV / computer use.
• Remember that paying for devices such as a computer, mobile phone, TV, internet service etc gives the parent the right to control their use.

 

Media exposure and its effects on young people – What are the facts? Media violence: There is very strong evidence linking exposure to media violence to aggressive behaviour, including bullying. Media violence also leads to desensitisation and to the belief that violence is an acceptable solution to everyday problems. Sex: In the absence of effective sex education, the media have become one of the leading sex educators of children and teenagers today and there is evidence that exposure to sex in the media leads to earlier involvement in sexual intercourse. Exposure to pornography via the internet is a real problem. Drugs: Advertisements for alcoholic products which target younger people increase the likelihood of drinking. Tobacco companies use movies to promote smoking to people of all ages but especially young people. Obesity and eating disorders: There is good evidence that obesity is related to the amount of TV watched and that the advertising of junk food on TV also has a negative effect. A large proportion of advertising during children’s TV programs is for junk food. Watching TV also increases the likelihood of young girls developing an unhealthy body self-image. Learning problems: Watching TV in infancy can lead to attention problems in later childhood.

 

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