Littleover Community School

BBC Young Reporter @ LCS

Should parents stop screen time for teenagers and children?

By: Makael


			Should parents stop screen time for teenagers and children?
Parents say children spend too much time online.

The American Academy of Paediatrics’ recommends for "children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting," and that parents "of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them.

Littleover Community School’s deputy head-teacher, Mr Wilding, states that “Young people are addicted to gadgets and it effects their behaviour and relationships with friends and family. It also has an impact on people’s health. There are no consequences in the online world, in the real world there are”.

According to Common Sense Media, teenagers spend an average of nine hours a day online. Children aged 8-12 spend at least six hours and 50 minutes for kids aged between 0 and 8. Any way that you try to cut the time for kids and teenagers it is still going to be a lot of screen time.

There are no consequences in the online world, in the real world there are.

Mr Wilding

Adults suggest that teenagers should have a maximum amount of screen time which is around 1-2 hours a day. Teenagers suggest that they should choose how much hours they can spend because the gadget that they use is there’s so since they own it is their choice.

Since children stay on a screen for a very long time they don’t get their full amount of sleep. The relationship between screens and sleep was stated “extremely modest”. This is another reason why parents should stop screen time. Children who stay on a screen for a very long time can affect the eyesight and health including sleep deprivation.

These are all the reason why parents should stop screen time. The main reason why parents should either stop or limit screen time is because it distracts children from learning and education. This ultimately effects their concentration in school. When children get caught up in games they get addicted to the game and when it is time to learn they forget it and think about the game. This is why screen time should be limited. If children always go on a phone or computer every day all the time, this could possibly affect the child’s health and eyesight. This is a reason why parents should limit screen time.