To be really worried now about screen time

[MaggieBsBoat]

Just saw this on LinkedIn. Has anyone know more about this. Brain health is so important. I thought it worth sharing…

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/safescreenscampaign_this-powerful-short-film-from-10-news-ugcPost-7426695827194023936-drUs?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAANUsm0BQbFkm1K5mrJCwDS7lKDhhvnLTQ8&utm_source=social_share_video_v2&utm_campaign=copy_link

Are you telling me that everyone with an ADHD diagnosis sees a psychiatrist? An actual psychiatrist?

Thank you for sharing OP. This is timely for me.

I've been pretty relaxed about TV up until now but in the last month or so I've made a conscious effort to reduce how much my 4.5 year old watches. And I don't even think it was that much by today's standards- just an hour after school and same on weekend mornings. Maybe a film on a weekend evening. But honestly I felt like she was becoming obsessed and it unsettled me - throwing massive tantrums when I turned it off and begging to watch it the second she woke up, the second she got home from school etc. She has so many toys, games, crafts that she was ignoring and I didn't feel like it was doing her behaviour/emotional wellbeing any good.

We've pretty much gone cold turkey which some people might say is extreme but honestly the difference in her is night and day. She's sleeping better. She's calmer, kinder. She's been doing lots of crafts after school, writing her own books and yesterday she made a rocket out of toilet roll tubes. She's made a school for her guinea pigs. Loads of dancing and discovered a love of board games. Will happily come out and walk the dog with me or pop to the shops. She's just a joy.

I think if I'm honest with myself I let her watch TV after school under the guise of her needing some time to unwind, but actually it was because I needed to finish work and it kept her out my hair for an hour. That's the reality and I'm sure lots of parents do the same. But I don't think it was doing right by her. We are all much happier now with hardly ever having the TV on.

I appreciate all kids are different and have different limits though.

Fwiw my dc didn't have any screen time before 4 years old. It was very obvious before then they had inattentive ADHD and has since been diagnosed. But then I look at our family tree and it's very obviously there in every generation. So maybe screens exacerbate these problems but for us it very much is a genetic thing.

Specialist Paediatricians and clinical psychologists and probably others with specialist training can also diagnose ADHD. But they would also be able to tell the difference between ADHD and some other behaviour that looks similar. So yes, I was a bit sloppy to only mention psychiatrists. A psychiatrist diagnosed me - she specialises in ADHD and autism.

Another point that people don't seem to be able to accept is that small children don't have to go out for dinner. It's not mandatory. It's an adult need, not a child's need.

And if the only way you can get your kid to stay still during dinner out at a restaurant is a screen
..then maybe stay home? Have a picnic?

Totally. In fact most adult places like pubs and bars really aren’t designed for children. Yes, they may sometimes be child friendly but the vast majority it’s not fair to keep kids there whilst you the parent gets pissed.

Very unprofessional for a teacher to talk about other children. Unless she's with all of the children 24/7 she doesn't actually know how much screen time they have.

ADHD is under diagnosed in this country .

I’m a secondary school teacher and the impact screen time is having on children is catastrophic. It’s horrifying. Absolutely no attention span, no ability to concentrate or focus for even minuscule amounts of time, inability to successfully transfer information to long-term memory or retain anything, worsening pattern recognition, comprehension and executive function, low impulse control, constantly needing things to match the dopamine hits the fast frame rates that social media gives etc.

At Parents Evening, anytime a parent asks me what they can do to improve their child’s attainment, behaviour or mood, I always say keep them off screens as much as possible. They say they can’t. The performance gap with regards to behaviour, mental health and attainment between children who read traditional books or do sports & get lots of fresh air over children who sit in front of computer screens or on smartphones is huge.

Even as an adult I feel myself sometimes slipping into bad habits with my phone. Watching a film now seems productive in comparison!

Couldn't agree more. I'm old enough to remember my gran saying children would never learn to speak properly because of Bill and Ben, I remember when pandering to children was taking crayons and paper to a restaurant. I also remember a very wise midwife telling me to remember a mother's place was in the wrong but not to let it bother me.

Brilliant. Then addle the brains of your descendants with YouTube six hours a day because that is definitely just the same a fourteen minute television programme once a week and some crayons in a restaurant.

We gave DD6 my old iPod recently from 2008 - the ones which still scrolled and have no pictures at all. It’s been amazing watching her sit with headphones on just listening to tunes. She treats listening to music as a complete activity in itself which made me realise I can’t remember the last time I listened to a song without simultaneously looking at something on my phone. So there’s still hope. Bring back old iPods.

Have one of these on my future wishlist for DD. She loves music! Bought her a second hand cd player for Christmas and we've been loving looking at the options in the charity shop. Made me realise how much I've missed listening to a full album.

You really think children's TV was once a week for 14 minutes. My kids are fine thanks, all have degrees and post grad qualifications. TV and crayons caused no issues. Maybe some people need something to blame.

There's definitely a difference. Passively staring at quickly changing short clips on a phone/tablet shortens attemtion span. There's a place for interactive activities/games where kids actually have to use their brain but obviously not if that's all they do all day.

Watching a whole tv programme or film on a big screen with the whole family is completely different from a phone. You can interact and talk about what you're watching. Also it encourages longer attention span. Stuff like nature programmes used to go down well for family viewing when mine were small.

Stuff like Cbeebies also often has an interactive element which is great if kids are actually engaging not staring blindly.

As far as telly is concerned we've always had a policy of switching it on, watching a particular programme or programmes and then switching it off. Having it on constantly in the background is unnecessary constant stimulation and distracts kids from conversation and other activities.

I think it's not that simple tbh.

My three kids have phones, 16, 13 and 10. They also have really healthy social lives, do activities which keep them fit and use phones for loads of things, not just tiktok (although tiktok too). I am of the opinion that they get enough of the essentials that if they have a few hours switching their brain off in front of a device now and again then I'm okay with it.

One child does 12 hours activities per week, one does 10, my eldest does 7 plus an extra GCSE outside school hours. By the time they eat, wash, do homework and get to bed there's not a load of time in between for screens. I don't have to limit them by saying no, it's a carrot not a stick. All of them prefer to do other things almost all the time.

I think that the key is balance. Down time is important, but so is good old fashioned social activity. I think screens are mostly bad not in themselves, but as a symptom of a society where there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done without these tools which people come to rely on.