Screen time: four ways excessive screen time impacts children's health and how to reduce screen time for kids

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A report has found that almost all children in England have their own phone by the age of 12 📱
  • The amount of time that children spend in front of screens is on the rise.
  • A report in 2024 by Parliament’s Education Select Committee found that almost all children in England have their own phone by the age of 12.
  • Experts are warning about the impact screen time can have on children’s health.

Screens play a huge role in our day-to-day lives, from our phone, to TV and laptop. As adults we regularly use our electronic devices to get by, but what about our children and could extensive screen time have an impact on their health?

Recommendations from World Health Organisation (WHO) advise that children aged 0 to two years old should have no screen time, whilst children aged two to four should only have up to one hour of screen time a day.

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However, a report in 2024 by Parliament’s Education Select Committee found that screen use was being used for children as young as six months of age, whilst one in five children between the age of three and four have their own mobile phone.

The amount of time those aged five and 15 years old spent online rose from an average of nine hours per week in 2009, to 15 hours per week in 2018, with screen time increasing by 52% between 2020 and 2022.

Excessive screen time has been found to have a big impact on kid's health.Excessive screen time has been found to have a big impact on kid's health.
Excessive screen time has been found to have a big impact on kid's health. | Pexels, RDNE Stock project

What are the health impacts of excessive screen time for children?

Excessive screen time has been found to impact children’s health, Chair of the Education Committee, Robin Walker MP, said: “Excessive screen and smartphone use has a clear negative impact on the mental and physical wellbeing of children and young people. Our inquiry heard shocking statistics on the extent of the damage being done to under-18s.”

Four health impacts of excessive screen time in children

Sleep

Using electronical devices before bedtime can have a huge impact on the quality of sleep for a young person or child. Phones, laptops, TVs and tablets emit short wave-length, artificial blue light that delays our body’s internal clock, interfering with the release of the hormone melatonin which helps us get to sleep.

Mental health

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The 2024 report revealed shocking statistics about the impact being online can have on children’s mental health. It found that children were at risk of encountering online harm, including racism, misogynistic abuse, pornography, and material promoting violence or self-harm.

They found that 79% of young people had come across violent pornography before the age of 18, with the average age that children first see pornography being 13 years old.

One in five children (19%) aged 10 to 15 had experienced at least one type of online bullying, and out of them, around three-quarters (72%) said they experienced at least some of it at school or during school time.

Whilst the report also said images posted online can have a negative impact on children’s self-perception, with girls and young women particularly feeling pressured to conform with the images of bodies they see on social media and body dissatisfaction and eating disorders also rising rapidly in boys and young men.

Eye strain

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Digital eye strain is a common condition that can happen when your child spends too much time focussing on screens. According to Specsavers, symptoms parents should look out for include eye discomfort, headaches, sore or tired eyes, difficulty focusing, dry eyes, blurred or double vision, and increased sensitivity to light.

Physical

The report also voiced concerns that children were often sedentary, with screen time resulting in reduced physical activity. Morrells Handwriting and left handed writing shop Left n Write highlighted that excessive screen time had numerous negative effects on children’s physical development, including hand and wrist weakness and grip and hand-pinch strength.

What can I do to reduce screen time?

There are a few ways as a parent that you can help reduce screen time. Sheffield NHS Foundation Trust recommends that you create a dialogue with your children about what they are doing when they are online and most importantly ask them questions.

They also recommend taking screen breaks as a family, such as agreeing on technology-free zones in the house, setting a digital detox challenge, creating a night time charging station to help avoid late night scrolling and trying to stay off electronic devices before bedtime.

To learn more about how screen time can impact children, you can read the 20 common signs your child's phone use or online gaming is becoming a problem.

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