According to a health scientist and sleep expert, allowing children to spend excessive time on screens is harming their mental well-being
Tom Coleman recommends that parents actively try to reduce their kids’ screen time and said he would even welcome a phone ban in schools.
This comes after Swedish officials published official recommendations for kids under two, right up to 18 years of age.
The recommendations include:
- Kids aged two and under – no screen time at all
- Kids aged 6 to 12 – a max of two hours
- Teens aged 13 – 18 – which include a max of three of of screen time each day
Coleman went on to describe how damaging screen time is for children and told Newstalk:
“If we look at different bodies of research, screen time has been shown to be associated with lower mental wellbeing, less curiosity, lower self-control, increased distractibility and more difficulty making friends.
“We can go on and on and cite research after research, there’s any amount of data out there and it’s not good for children.
“There’s enough evidence now out there for us to start to put things in place that protect our children.”
He went on to say that mobile phones are actually “highly addictive,” no matter what age.
“It’s like having an endless supply of crack cocaine there,” said Mr Coleman.
“It’s the same chemical pathway in the brain so it’s highly, highly addictive.
“It falls down to us parents and hopefully with the support of Government through legislation to protect our children.”
Among the other things that excessive screen time can affect is a child’s quality of sleep, which can have serious consequences down the line if it becomes a regular issue.
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