A report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that children aged 2 and 4 should not be allowed TV watching for more than 1 hour per day.
Consecutively, WHO says that infants aged less than a year should not be exposed to electronic screens at all.
According to United Nations agency, children between 2 and 4 should be physically active and allowed to get enough sleep to ensure the development of good lifelong habits and to prevent cases of obesity and other diseases later in their stages.
Too much sedentary screen time is harmful to their upbringing and is bound to complicate a child’s growth.
WHO identifies sedentary screen time as encompassing watching television or videos and playing computer games.
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“Healthy physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep habits are established early in life, providing an opportunity to shape habits through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood,” said the WHO.
The report posits that children under 5 should spend at least three hours in myriad physical activities spread throughout the day.
On the other hand, infants below one year should interact in floor-based play and avoid all screens.
The WHO noted that a child being inactive is a “leading risk factor” for mortality and it fuels the global rise in overweight and obesity.
A WHO report released in 2017 noted that the number of obese children and adolescents across the globe had multiplied ten times in the last four decades to hit 120 million.
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In a nutshell, the WHO guidelines advice that:
The advice
For babies:
- Be physically active several times a day, including at least 30 minutes’ “tummy time” – lying on their front
- No sedentary screen time
- 14-17 hours’ sleep a day, including naps, for newborns – reducing to 12-16 by four to 11 months
- Should not be restrained (like being strapped into a recliner, seat or sling) for more than an hour at a time
For one- and two-year-olds:
- At least three hours’ physical activity a day
- No sedentary screen time for one-year-olds and less than an hour for two-year-olds
- 11-14 hours’ sleep a day, including naps
- Should not be restrained for more than an hour at a time or sit for extended periods of time
For three- and four-year-olds:
- At least three hours’ physical activity a day, including at least one of moderate or vigorous intensity
- Up to an hour of TV watching – less is better
- 10-13 hours’ sleep a day, which may include a nap
- Should not be restrained for more than an hour at a time or sit for extended periods of time
Meanwhile, how much TV time is your child getting? Can you control their sedentary screen time?
If you are a parent, ask yourself these questions:
- Is screen time controlled?
- Does screen use interfere with what your family wants to do?
- Does screen use interfere with sleep?
- Are you able to control snacking during screen time?
If you are satisfied with the answers to these questions, then you are likely to be handling screen time well.