An alarming new study by medical experts in France shared how children below the age of six shouldn’t be exposed to screens like televisions. This might give rise to irreversible damage to their brain’s development, as per the health research.
Screen time can be in the form of children getting exposed to computers, smartphones, televisions, video games, tablets, and beyond. As it is, all of these are a part of daily life, and parents don’t understand how much of a risk they’re putting the child in.
The report was published as part of an open letter to the French government that highlighted how parents’ ignorance has given rise to this phenomenon. Now, it’s time to act before it’s too late, experts from various medical fields like pediatrics, psychiatry, public health, and ophthalmology shared.
They are also calling for an urgent rethink to keep future generations safe, as screens in different forms don’t meet children’s needs. What’s worse is how they prevent and change the brain’s development. It causes a serious problem to both health and intellectual capabilities.
Right now in France, kids aren’t exposed to screens before a certain age. They only occasionally use them between the three to six six-year age group. Neither screen tech nor the material dubbed educational content get adapted to small developing minds. Remember, kids are not adults, and they have different needs.
Each day, health professionals and school teachers working with the youth commonly see damage to kids’ minds before they arrive at elementary school. Some of the common signs include attention deficit, issues with memory, problems with motor skills, and delayed speaking or language.
The experts shared how regular exposure to these screens gives rise to serious negative impacts on kids’ social development. The problem impacts all social age groups, especially households at a disadvantage. This results in more social inequalities.
Kids can instead engage in health educational activities that promote good brain development. This includes free play, artistic activities, outdoor games, reading books, creative arts, and more. It wouldn’t normally occur to anyone that a child below the age of six could be capable of crossing the road alone. So why are they getting exposed to a screen time that impacts health and mental capabilities in the future?
A report published last year by French President Macron shared how three to six-year-olds were spending nearly 1 hour and 47 minutes per day in front of phone screens between 2014 to 2015. After that, only a single recommendation from the commission got implemented. This had to do with the alarming exposure of kids below the age of three to screentime.
The country’s ex-prime minister went one step further to ensure a ban on social media for kids below the age of 15. That came alongside an online curfew for those between the age groups of 15 to 18 that stops access to social media at nearly 10pm.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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Screen time can be in the form of children getting exposed to computers, smartphones, televisions, video games, tablets, and beyond. As it is, all of these are a part of daily life, and parents don’t understand how much of a risk they’re putting the child in.
The report was published as part of an open letter to the French government that highlighted how parents’ ignorance has given rise to this phenomenon. Now, it’s time to act before it’s too late, experts from various medical fields like pediatrics, psychiatry, public health, and ophthalmology shared.
They are also calling for an urgent rethink to keep future generations safe, as screens in different forms don’t meet children’s needs. What’s worse is how they prevent and change the brain’s development. It causes a serious problem to both health and intellectual capabilities.
Right now in France, kids aren’t exposed to screens before a certain age. They only occasionally use them between the three to six six-year age group. Neither screen tech nor the material dubbed educational content get adapted to small developing minds. Remember, kids are not adults, and they have different needs.
Each day, health professionals and school teachers working with the youth commonly see damage to kids’ minds before they arrive at elementary school. Some of the common signs include attention deficit, issues with memory, problems with motor skills, and delayed speaking or language.
The experts shared how regular exposure to these screens gives rise to serious negative impacts on kids’ social development. The problem impacts all social age groups, especially households at a disadvantage. This results in more social inequalities.
Kids can instead engage in health educational activities that promote good brain development. This includes free play, artistic activities, outdoor games, reading books, creative arts, and more. It wouldn’t normally occur to anyone that a child below the age of six could be capable of crossing the road alone. So why are they getting exposed to a screen time that impacts health and mental capabilities in the future?
A report published last year by French President Macron shared how three to six-year-olds were spending nearly 1 hour and 47 minutes per day in front of phone screens between 2014 to 2015. After that, only a single recommendation from the commission got implemented. This had to do with the alarming exposure of kids below the age of three to screentime.
The country’s ex-prime minister went one step further to ensure a ban on social media for kids below the age of 15. That came alongside an online curfew for those between the age groups of 15 to 18 that stops access to social media at nearly 10pm.
Read next: WhatsApp Marks New Success After Hitting 3 Billion Monthly Active User Milestone
