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5.01.2024

Screen Time: Make Time to Unplug

Screen time measures exposure to electronic screens such as phones, televisions, or computers¹. This specific sedentary (involving little movement) activity seems to be on the rise. The time spent viewing media screens is increasing rapidly and has become the second most common type of sedentary behavior, behind adult sedentary jobs².

Why Limit Screen Time?

Increased time in front of a screen means less time being physically active, contributing to higher weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) or amount of body fat, increased caloric intake and unhealthy food choices. 

Studies have found that children may choose more active options if they are not watching TV. Additionally, children commonly eat more when they are watching TV, especially if they see ads for food. Commercials and other screen advertisements can lead to unhealthy food choices because most of the time, foods in ads that are aimed at children are high in sugar, salt, or fats. 

Limiting screen time can help children maintain a healthy weight as they grow. While both sedentary behavior and screen time contribute to obesity due to lack of physical activity, there are numerous other conditions associated with screen time. According to social learning theory, children and adolescents learn by observing and imitating what they see on the screen, particularly when these behaviors seem realistic or are rewarding. Children 8 years and younger have not yet cognitively developed an understanding to comprehend persuasive content making them more vulnerable to advertising³.

How Much Is Too Much?

While some experts believe that well-designed educational programs may improve brain, literacy and social outcomes for young children, screen time should be limited and should not be permitted for children under 2 years old (except video calls with family). Allowing children to use media by themselves should be avoided. 

Digital media should be limited to 1 hour per day for children 2-5 years old⁴. In child care centers, however, screen time should be limited to 30 minutes per week, it should be only for educational purposes and free of advertising⁶. Parents should check with their provider’s policies to make sure the combined media time does not exceed 1 hour per day. Screen time should never be permitted during meals, snack time or within one hour of bedtime.

Substance Abuse and Sexual Behaviors
Viewing advertisements on television and other screen time platforms such as video games, social media, and YouTube are likely to expose children to drugs, alcohol and sexual content which can lead to early onset deviant behaviors.

Mental Health
Acts of violence can lead to anxiety and fear. Because violence is often “glamourized” on television, acceptance of violence becomes an appropriate means of solving conflict resulting in learned aggression.

Cognitive Development
Heavy television-viewing (more than 2–3 hours/day) in early childhood has been linked with language delays and attention-deficit disorder during the early school years.

Sleep
Increased time spent on a screen and the presence of computer, phone or television screens in the bedroom (which have been found to increase a child's watching to approximately 11 hours/day) have been associated with fewer minutes of sleep per night in young children. Even infants exposed to screen media in the evening hours show significantly shorter night-time sleep duration than those with no evening screen exposure⁴. LEDs at night (iPads, phones, tablets) can interfere with the release of melatonin which affects sleep⁵.

Children who have a TV in their bedroom watch 56% more TV daily than those who don’t. Children who watch TV for 3+ hours per day have a 65% higher chance of being obese than children who watch less than 1 hour.

WAYS TO REDUCE SCREEN TIME AT HOME AND IN CHILD CARE CENTERS

• Only use high quality programming and apps
• Log screen time minutes and set limits; use timers
• Avoid using media as a way to calm your child or keep him/her entertained
• Create screen-free rooms and keep bedrooms, mealtimes, and parent–child playtimes screen free
• Find alternative activities that don’t involve screen use
• Turn screen time into active time (e.g. do physical activities during commercials)
• Avoid using screen time as a reward or taking it away as a punishment (makes it too important)
• Educate children about advertisements, commercials and programs they are viewing

Learn More

To learn more about nutrition and physical activities resources for children, visit the Healthy Kids Resource Center. The Healthy Kids Resource Center is a one-stop-shop for evidence-based research, resources, curricula, activities and materials that focus on obesity prevention for teachers and parents of young children. It is designed to educate parents and teachers as well as provide the tools needed to teach young children how to live a healthy lifestyle. Toolboxes are provided on topics of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Body Image. Within these sections you will find educational fact sheets on relevant topics such as energy balance, cardiovascular health, eating healthy, reducing sedentary behavior, physical literacy and living healthy at any shape or size. Teachers and parents are provided with their own sections full of easy-to-use resources such as activities, games, lessons, videos, music and dances which are free to use at home or in the classroom. In conjunction with various community partners, you will find a calendar of upcoming community health events geared towards young children, legislation and best practices, statewide programming efforts and contact information for organizations invested in keeping our children healthy. We hope this is a valuable resource for promoting and creating opportunities to establish healthy eating and physical activity habits at an early age.

CREDITS

This article was created for the Healthy Kids Resource Center, extension.unredu/healthykids, and funded in part by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. UNR Extension FS-20-21. Available online at https://extension.unr.edu/healthykids/pub.aspx?PubID=2925. 

REFERENCES

1. Lou, D. Sedentary Behaviors and Youth: Current Trends and the Impact on Health. San Diego, CA: Active Living Research; 2014. Available at www.activelivingresearch.org.
2. Wu, L., Sun, S., He, Y., & Jiang, B. (2016). The effect of interventions targeting screen time reduction. Medicine, 95(27). doi:10.1097/md.0000000000004029
3. Strasburger, Victor C., Amy B. Jordan and Ed Donnerstein. Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents, Pediatrics 2010;125;756; originally published online March 1, 2010; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-2563
4. Radesky, J., MD, FAAP, & Christakis, D., MD, MPH, FAAP. (2016). Media and Young Minds. American Academy of Pediatrics,138(5). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591
5. Heo, J., Kim, K., Fava, M., Mischoulon, D., Papakostas, G. I., Kim, M., . . . Jeon, H. J. (2017). Effects of smartphone use with and without blue light at night in healthy adults: A randomized, double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled comparison. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 87, 61-70. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.12.010
6. Caring For Our Children 3 Content. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2018.

Nutrition and wellness tips for young children: provider handbook for the Child and Adult Care Food Program. (2013). Alexandria, VA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Retrieved January 30, 2018.