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Child mental health

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Has anyone else noticed their kids are worse after screens?

3 replies

JustADadHere78 · 10/04/2026 12:28

Not sure if I’m overthinking this… but has anyone else noticed their kids seem worse after screens, not better?

I’ve got an 8-year-old and we went through a phase where taking screens off him was absolute chaos, proper meltdowns, couldn’t settle, bedtime was a nightmare. At first I just thought it was “normal” or that we needed to be stricter.

But recently I started wondering if it’s not just screen time itself, but the type of content, like the really fast-paced, constant stimulation stuff.

We tried dialing that back and it’s been… noticeably different. Not perfect, but the reactions aren’t as extreme and transitions are easier.

Now I’m questioning whether a lot of what gets called “behaviour issues” is actually kids being completely overstimulated and then struggling to regulate afterwards.

Curious if anyone else has noticed this or am I just seeing patterns that aren’t really there?

OP posts:
Pugglywuggly · 10/04/2026 16:25

Have you been living under a rock? It's well known that screens, and the type of content, affect behaviour.

newornotnew · 10/04/2026 16:26

If you are interested in this area, there's lots of academic research.

Peoplearebloodyidiots · 10/04/2026 16:29

Yes we find this...after ipad and any TV time too.

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