Once a child is over two, restricted screen time can help develop coordination and language skills
We’re used to seeing headlines reminding us how much screen time (if any) our kids should have. But how damaging is it, asks Georgina Blaskey
Along with whether breast is best, how many fruit and vegetables we should feed our children and the right age to start toilet training, screen time is up there as yet another issue to make parents feel like they?re failing. Look around an aeroplane of holidaymakers and most children will be plugged in to a device, usually swiping away on an app with all sorts of rewards toting up. Each reward they accrue is another dopamine hit that tells them, ?yes you?re doing it right, you can move up a level; look, you?re doing so well, let?s play some more!? What this ultimately means is the game is never over, so turning off the device usually involves a battle so fierce, you wish you?d never let them have it in the first place. Very young children do not have the self-control to know when enough is enough; it?s up to us to teach them, and this means moderating our own behaviour when it comes to tech. If you?re in the playground having a quick scroll through Instagram while they whoosh down a slide, what?s to say they shouldn?t just sit on a swing and watch In The Night Garden" If you?re checking an email while they eat their lunch, why shouldn?t they play Toca Boo in between mouthfuls" It?s all the same to kids.
New York Universit...