10 Ways Screen Time Affects Your Child

6. Reinforce gender roles

It might surprise you one day to hear your son say that you are telling him to use girls’ stuff! They may not have learned this from you or your neighbour but from the screen. It’s unfortunate that we as consumers have no control over what shows on our screens. But, you have the remote to control which channels your kid should watch or not.

7. Racial stereotypes

Sometimes, the shows in television might show some racial stereotypes to bring out an important message or to condemn racial stereotypes. However, as noted in the above points, children are not quick to grasp what’s being communicated. They will, therefore, grasp the superficial message and end up being racial stereotypes. Being near as a parent or guardian is important because you can make them understand the content fully while limiting the number of hours they spend on the screen.

8. Disconnection with family members, social life, and friendships

Too much screentime can isolate one from the real world. It’s not surprising to see that a child feels more connected to the screen characters than he/she is to his siblings and parents. Too much screentime will also make a child dislike other activities such as outside playing or other activities just to sit down glued to the screen. For kids who are yet to speak, they might have delayed speech or few words because they are not communicating enough to enhance their speech.

9. Mood changes

Small stuff that is not supposed to get on their nerves may become something huge to deal with afterwards. This can result from a stressed body due to lack of the most restful sleep. It is common to see kids get all mad because you took their toy, and they can even break a thing or two. All associated with too much screentime.

10. Vulgar language

Children pick too much from the screens, and if unmonitored, they will soon start cursing and using obscene language. If you want them to remain the good kids you have raised, you have a responsibility to monitor constantly whatever they are doing on the screen. Too much screen also has addictive tendencies and can lead to impaired brain function leading to poor performance of tasks.

Minimal and monitored screen time might be healthy for your child. However, when left on their own, this time might bring more harm than good. Never use the screen as a babysitter.

It might keep your child glued there and allow you to do other things but in the end, your child might have more serious issues to deal with as they grow up.