Efforts to limit the amount of students’ screen time may be less effective than focusing on how they are using their screens, according to several education-technology experts. In an opinion piece, Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology Education, says screen time is best used to collaborate and problem-solve.
Two-minute exercise breaks in the classroom may help school children meet physical activity goals without disrupting learning, new research suggests.
University of Michigan researchers say short bursts of in-classroom activity can trim childhood obesity rates while helping elementary schools provide 30 minutes of daily exercise for students.
“What we’re showing is that we can give kids an additional 16 minutes of health-enhancing physical activity,” said lead investigator Rebecca Hasson, an associate professor of kinesiology and nutritional sciences.
Children in the United States are supposed to get at least one hour of exercise each day, including 30 minutes of physical activity during school hours, the study authors explained. Most don’t reach this daily goal.
“Many kids don’t have PE (physical education) every day but they might have recess, and if they get 10 more minutes of activity there, it would meet that school requirement,” Hasson said in a university news release. “This doesn’t replace PE, it’s a supplement. We’re trying to create a culture of health throughout the entire school day, not just in the gym.”
Parents should reconsider their relationship with their phones; save the most stressful aspects of smartphone use for when other family members aren’t present; and focus on mealtimes, bedtimes and other downtime by unplugging with the family, according to a one-page resource in JAMA Pediatrics. The resource also urged parents to avoid undesirable phone use behaviors that may be imitated by their children, as well as to resist documenting and posting everything.
Are you worried your kids are spending too much time in front of a screen? Find out how much screen time is too much and discover easy ways to limit your kids’ time in front of a screen.
From Common Sense Media
How many of us have witnessed a teacher, coach, or grandparent try to make conversation with kids who can’t unglue their eyes from a screen? Of course it’s only polite to put down your phone when anyone is talking to you, but it can be especially embarrassing for parents who were raised to defer to the older generation.
What to do: Make your expectations very clear. Talk to your kids about how important it is to use good manners when you’re on your phone. Explain that it can be very difficult to put down your phone when you’re in the middle of a game or chat, but you believe it’s important to pay special respect to people like grandparents and elders. And of course, respect breeds respect, so put your phone down when your kid talks to you (unless it’s about how much redstone they need to build a castle in Minecraft, in which case it’s totally OK to ignore them!).
For many parents, turning on the TV the second they walk in the door or compulsively checking social media becomes a habit. Kids often develop unhealthy screen time habits too, by turning on video games before school or by getting on the computer the second they walk through the door.
Making a conscious choice to unplug for an extended period of time can break some of those bad habits. When kids get out of their environment and step away from their usual routine, they have an opportunity to develop new habits.
Here are a few strategies for creating a digital detox:
Stepping away from electronics for a few days can be a great experiment to see if it changes your child’s behavior. A short break could boost her mood (after she gets over the initial horror of not having her electronics) and increase her motivation to get her work done.
Of course, it’s important to be a good role model when it comes to electronics. If you tell your child to turn off the electronics while you’re sitting behind the computer, your words won’t be effective. So be willing to go through a digital detox with your child. It could be good for the whole family to step away from electronics for a short time.
Experts say that getting children to eat more healthfully, be more active and spend less time on electronic devices are key to combating childhood obesity.
The study involved 3,206 parents, more women than men (average age, 42), who had a child younger than 18. They were questioned about the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity their child got each week, how many servings of fruit and vegetables their child ate daily and how long their child typically spent each day in front of a television, DVD player, computer, tablet or video-game console. Parents also were questioned about their support for and involvement in such behaviors. Overall, the more active and engaged parents were in these aspects of their children’s lives, the more likely the children were to meet guidelines on healthy behaviors.
Children whose parents took them to parks, playgrounds or sports activities were twice as likely to meet physical activity guidelines as children whose parents did not do this. The same held true when parents and children participated together in physical activities. When families ate meals together away from television, the children were 67 percent more likely to meet guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption than were children in families that combined mealtime and television watching. When parents gave children fruit and vegetables for between-meal snacks, the children were five times as likely as others to meet the consumption goals. As for screen time, children were twice as likely to meet guidelines if their parents set and enforced restrictions on the use of electronic devices as were children who did not have such rules. However, when families watched television together, the children were 33 percent less likely to meet screen-time guidelines.
Information on healthy behaviors for children is available at kidshealth.org (click on “for Parents”) and at healthychildren.org (click on “Healthy Living”). For information on screen-time guidance, go to mayoclinic.org (search “screen time”).
Young people spend an average of 6.5 hours a day on cell phones, computers and other devices. That doesn’t include the time they use screens for school and homework. ‘Screenagers: Growing up in the Digital Age?’ is a documentary that explores how much screen time healthy. Physician and mother of two Dr. Delaney Ruston became interested in this issue when her preteen started begging for a smart phone. Dr. Ruston saw other parents equally confused on how to balance technology with a young developing mind. She decided to delve deep into the science behind screen time to understand how it affects young people’s minds and development.
Through personal stories and input from leading researchers, SCREENAGERS sheds light on the impact this screen time is having on kids. The documentary explores how learning, playing and socializing online affects teens’ developing attention span, fragile self-esteem and moral instincts. SCREENAGERS examines the real risks of failing in school, social isolation and digital addiction. Ultimately, the film explores solutions to handle screen time and provides parents with tools to help young people develop self-control and find balance in their digital lives.
Click here to learn more, including the opportunity to book a screening
Click here for an interview with Dr. Delaney Ruston, the director of “Screenagers” about her own family’s messy struggles with digital distractions, and about the surprising insights she learned making this film.
Adapted from NPR Ed
According to Common Sense Media, tweens log 4 1/2 hours of screen time a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. For teens, it’s even higher: nearly seven hours a day. And that doesn’t include time spent using devices for school or in school.
From babies with iPads to Chromebooks in classrooms, digital devices seem more ubiquitous every year. And one of the hottest issues today in both parenting and education circles is the proper role of electronic media in children’s lives.
There’s research to support both the benefits and dangers of digital media for developing minds. Plenty of questions remain unanswered.
But those of us raising and teaching children can’t afford to wait years for the final evidence to come in. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics plans to update its guidelines on media use later this year. Current recommendations are to avoid all screens for children under 2, and to allow a maximum of two hours per day of high-quality material for older children.
NPR spoke with David Hill, chairman of the AAP Council on Communications and Media and a member of the AAP Children, Adolescents and Media Leadership Working Group, to hear about the upcoming recommendations and to get some advice on how to use screens wisely.
Click here to read the interview
Watch your own screen habits. Although your teen may not seem to pay attention to anything you do or say, you are still her most important role model. So you can’t tell her to cut back on TV time if you’re watching endless hours of TV, texting while you’re driving, or eating dinner with your Blackberry on the table.
Remind teens to limit screen usage. Banning electronics completely isn’t realistic these days, but it’s important to let your teen know you’re paying attention to how much time she’s on a screen.
Encourage activities that involve socializing. Look for activities and clubs that engage your teen socially, so he will get out and be with other people.
Create screen rules together. You’ll be more likely to get your teen’s buy-in if you come up with screen-time rules as a family.
Talk about it. Simply setting limits won’t go over well with older teens, who need to have rules that make sense to them.
