Pediatrician at Healthy Kids Foundation Dr. Gloria Amponsah-Kodua has warned that children who spend excessive time watching screens of phones, tablets, computers and other devices are exposed to various health hazards such as obesity.
The use of mobile phones, tablets, computers and other screens by children with its associated social and health challenges has increased, becoming a matter of grave concern to pediatricians across the world.
Recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the American Association of Pediatricians are that children less than 18 months should not have any screen time at all and for those above 18 months, their screen time should be limited to an hour per day with breaks after every 20 minutes.
She indicated that there are a number of health hazards such as straining of the eyes, headaches, stiff-neck, back and neck pain associated with the excessive use of screens in children.
Dr Amponsah-Koduah also noted the situation affects their language development since it often isolates the child from interacting with other children and adults to build his or her language.
More so, when children spend so much time watching screens and playing games, it may lead to obesity and all the attendant health challenges that come with obesity, she further noted.
“Interacting with others is better than the child looking at the screen even though it will be showing ABC or rhymes. We want children to be able to interact with others and also explore their environment to develop their synchrony motive skills,” Dr Amponsah-Kodua
She emphasised that the first three years of the child is where brain development and acquisition of skills take place.
That is when there must be more interactions between parents and their children for them to explore the environment, she added, play with other kids and learn to use their hands as well as improve their imagination.
Dr. Amponsah-Kodua further explained that there are children who are addicted to the screen and find it difficult to interact with other people. Such children are emotionally and psychologically affected depending on what they watch on the screen, be it pain, fighting as well as fear and anxiety.
“Some can even develop love for violence and become very aggressive so if they are even doing something bad to other children, they don’t see or feel bad. So it is very important we take note of these hazards and limit screen time for our children.”
The pediatrician at Healthy Kids Foundation recommends that parents who want their children to spend limited time watching on screens should scrutinize the kind of content their children consume.