Too much time using screens can lead to emotional and behavioural difficulties in children, according to new research, leading to them spending more time glued to devices.
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00:00Most parents sort of intuitively know that if you're having a kid having an emotional
00:06moment that turning on the screen for a moment can distract them from the thing that was
00:10upsetting them before.
00:11The problem is that when we do that, kids don't learn how to manage that emotion without
00:15the screen or in more healthy ways.
00:17They don't learn how to breathe or think about the situation from a different perspective.
00:20They don't learn to self-regulate.
00:21And so it means they're more likely to have these kinds of problems down the track.
00:25So were you able then, Michael, to break down different categories?
00:28Is there an age group that's more susceptible to developing socio-emotional problems?
00:34Yeah, so we found that video games seemed like the biggest offender here.
00:40And the kids that were most likely to overuse video games were slightly older boys, so boys
00:44between like six and ten.
00:46So younger kids, it seems like parents put a bit of a lid on how much screen time they
00:50get.
00:51And girls sort of culturally don't spend as much time gaming.
00:55But because video games were so deleterious and problematic, it seems like school-aged
01:00boys were the most at risk of this relationship.
01:02OK.
01:03So for parents and carers then, is it simply a case of limiting the amount of time they
01:08allow their kids to spend on screens?
01:11Look, a little bit.
01:13I think we do want to keep some controls on how much time children use and also what they
01:18use.
01:19You know, we've subsequently taken our Nintendo away from our six-year-old because, you know,
01:22we could see the cycle that was coming about.
01:25But I guess the other thing is to notice that because the relationship goes the other way,
01:29we as parents are responsible for our kids' social-emotional health.
01:33And so if our kids are using a lot of screens, it doesn't mean just put limitations on the
01:37screens.
01:38It might mean that we need to do, you know, a free positive parenting program or something
01:41to try to help our kids manage their own emotions some other way that doesn't involve a screen.
01:46Because it is an increasingly digital world, isn't it?
01:50Any, as parents, best place to guide them through that?
01:54Because it's something that, unless you're an expert like yourself, that perhaps parents
01:58aren't completely au fait with.
02:01Yeah, and we don't necessarily know what screens are going to be good or bad as a parent
02:06just sort of watching what our young person does, right?
02:09But I think there are some tips or tricks here.
02:12In the same way that too much sugar in food is bad for kids, too much stimulation in screens
02:17is bad for kids.
02:18So when I see my kids playing Mario Kart, there's flashing lights, and they're telling
02:22you're doing a great job, and it's constantly at the right level for them.
02:25And they have massive fights when I have to try to take it away from them.
02:28That's a sign that maybe that's not the screen time that they should be doing.
02:31And at the same time, the educational apps, you know, my six-year-old can take or leave,
02:35you know, his reading eggs, and maybe that's a sign that it's not going to addict him,
02:39right?
02:40If I'm not having to have arguments about whether or not he does it or doesn't do it, then that's
02:43a good sign that it's not addictive.
02:45So how long, depending on the age, how long should kids be allowed to spend on their screens?
02:49Yeah, so the guidelines for children under two is that they should avoid them at all
02:54costs.
02:55That's really hard in today's day and age.
02:58And that we should be, you know, spending less than one or two hours depending on how
03:02old children are.
03:03But I guess I would say that's probably a little bit crude, a little bit saying like we should
03:06have 2,000 calories worth of food.
03:09Instead, I think we should be more attuned to what children are watching, which might
03:12mean a little bit more ABC Kids, a little bit less Netflix, a little bit more educational
03:16games and a little bit less just racing games.
03:18End of Audio
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