No matter how you approach this topic, nobody can deny there’s a screen time problem amongst modern children. Our kids spend way too much time looking at screens, yet we don’t always realise the impact this has on their health. Looking at a phone or computer for too long every day could result in all of the following adverse health effects:
Leads to awful posture & chronic pain
We’re currently in the midst of a child neck pain epidemic. More and more kids visit osteopaths and physical therapists complaining of sore necks. A lot of these children are tweens or teens, so you could put it down to things like growing pains – but these have always existed.
Turns out that screen time is at fault. When your kids spend hours a day staring at screens – be it a TV, smartphone, computer or tablet – they end up sitting with awful posture. Their neck falls forward and flexes too much, their upper back hunches, and this creates a chain of pain.
What’s even worse is that they reinforce bad posture every day, so it becomes normal for their bodies to sit in this awful posture when doing anything. Because everything is now out of alignment, the neck muscles and joints work overtime, which is where the neck pain comes from. Fix your child’s posture to help alleviate the pain, and then clamp down on screen time so they avoid falling into the same trap again.
Prevents your child from being physically active
Your child gets home from school and spends the next few hours staring at various screens. Essentially, this means they’re inactive for about five hours every day, minimum. That’s a big problem.
There’s a massive link between too much screen time and childhood obesity – and it’s worrying.
Kids are spending way less time being active and physically healthy because of their screens. Also, factor in what they tend to do during screen time: eat unhealthy snacks. It’s a terrible combination that means millions of children are growing up obese, meaning they deal with a lifetime of health problems.
Prevent this by restricting screen time and planning things to do as a family so you can all get fitter and healthier. Go on walks, ride your bikes, play in the park; whatever it takes to force your child away from their screens.
Causes digital eye strain & sight problems
In the least surprising news ever, too much screen time will cause digital eye strain. Looking at screens for too long puts a strain on the eyes and the surrounding muscles. This leads to chronic headaches, dry eyes, and possible sight problems.
You see, the problem with a screen is that your child ends up staring at something up close for ages. This means they can develop short-sightedness and need glasses from a relatively young age. Their eyes aren’t used to focusing on things far away because they spend hours looking at screens.
You shouldn’t ban screens altogether – they’re useful in some ways for a child’s development, and to give you a few minutes of peace – but you absolutely should try to limit your child’s screen time. If you let them stare at screens for hours a day, they’ll likely end up with at least one of these health concerns.
