Are kids actually uncovered to screens an excessive amount of? | EUROtoday

When it involves early childhood, that is hardly extra reassuring. In April 2023, Public Health France (SpF) printed a survey on the publicity of kids aged 2 to five and a half years to screens. According to their crew of researchers, a 2-year-old youngster spends a median of 56 minutes per day in entrance of any display screen. In addition, they add that for a kid aged 3 and a half, it’s 80 minutes per day and for a kid aged 5 and a half, the each day common is 1 hour 34 minutes.

However, display screen consumption will not be really useful for the youngest. Arcom, the regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, advises to not expose kids below 3 years previous to tv. “To develop his abilities, the child must actively use his five senses, relying in particular on the relationship with an adult who responds to him. He needs to perceive himself as being able to transform the world, which he does, for example, when he manipulates objects around him. However, passive exposure to images broadcast on a screen does not promote this type of interaction: it […] can, on the contrary, slow down the development [cognitif et social] of the toddler,” explains Arcom in its information to the safety of youth and minors.

Children and screens: language and sleep problems, dangers of dependancy

“Children’s exposure to screens can also cause habituation problems, which can turn into addictive behaviors in adulthood,” he tells Point Stéphanie Ladel, addictologist and preventologist. “The screen is a vector for children, as for adults, of pleasant practices, which can turn into very bad habits,” provides the professional. It’s all a query of management and discovering the best length of publicity for these toddlers. Especially since a baby will not be accountable by definition, “he must be regulated by his human environment, his parents, his teachers, his nanny…” provides Stéphanie Ladel.

Emmanuel Macron thus requested the “best scientists, […] both epidemiologists, clinicians, sociologists, all disciplines, [de] tell us: before such an age, it is not reasonable to put a screen in front of a child.” Especially since extreme display screen consumption may cause language problems, sleep problems and will increase the danger of childhood weight problems. Among the explanations for his alternative of regulation, the president notably talked about the struggle in opposition to cyberharassment and his struggle in opposition to minors’ entry to pornography. He recalled that with the assistance of his earlier governments, a ban on telephones in school and higher parental controls had been put in place, amongst others.