Healthy Kids: Interactive media use

Published: Updated:
Mobile and interactive media use by young children: The good, the bad and the unknown:
Children younger than 30 months old, learn best from real-life interactions.
Past research looked at TV and videos.
Question now:  interactive applications useful or not?
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Use of devices in young children:
Educational benefit
Distract from mundane tasks
Hinders social-emotional development
Need for development of their own internal mechanism of self-regulation
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Conclusions:
Increased TV time decreases language and social skills development
Interferes with development of empathy, social and problem solving skills
Need to explore, unstructured play and interact with peers
Hands-on activities are needed for sensorimotor and visual-motor skills
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Recommendations:
Parents use applications before allowing children to use
Parents use applications with their children, make it interactive
Make regular ‘unplugged family time’ daily
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Teen’s sleep adversely affected by media devices:
10,000 adolescents were studied
97 percent teens have at least one electronic device in their bedroom
Current recommendation:  No TV in the bedroom
Less than two hours a day of screen-time is recommendation
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Conclusions:
Less than one hour to fall asleep = < 4 hours per day screen time
                                 got 8-9 hours of sleep per night
More than one hour to fall asleep = > 4 hours of screen time
                                 got 5 hours of sleep per night
More than two hours a day of screen time interfered with sleep
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Recommendations:
Unplug and interact with family and friends.

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