“No screen time at all for under-2s.”
There is an obesity epidemic happening in the Western world today, and as a result, the World Health Organization is worried about the sedentary habits of today’s children, hence the recommendation of no screen time at all when it comes to babies and young children.
There is no getting away from the fact that technology plays a large part in all our lives, including our children, and because of this, the WHO this week released some new guidelines, strongly suggesting that there should be no screen time at all for under-2s, with infants and one-year-olds being completely kept away from screens and blue-light technology, and two-year-olds getting no more than an hour of screen time a day.
The no screen time for under-2s might sounds a little strict to many, but, in fact, is completely in line with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines, which recommend no screen time other than video chatting for children under 18 months.
However, the new report, which spanned a whopping 17 pages, is also keen to stress that screen-time should not be viewed on its own, but rather as a bigger picture of childhood health, rather than worrying about the one day when you toddlers watched 27 Peppa Pig episodes back-to-back. The report, which is titled “Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age,” looks at how we can cut back on screen-time for our children and at the same time incorporate more activity into their day.
Dr. Juana Willumsen, an expert in childhood obesity and physical activity with the WHO, explains:
“What we really need to do is bring back play for children,” Dr. Willumsen explains. “This is about making the shift from sedentary time to playtime, while protecting sleep.”
The main takeaway from the report, it seems, is that yes, screen time needs to be limited, especially for very young children, and also kept an eye on for older kids, but that parents should not spend too much time worrying if they had to put on some Paw Patrol or a Youtube slime video just so they were able to take a shower or drink their coffee while it’s still hot.
What do YOU think, parents? How much screen time are your kids getting (if any)? And do you think they have a nice balance of being active and outdoors and being at home, glued to a screen?
