Research shows that when media use isn’t regulated, children can miss out on important social interactions, which may lead to delays in language development, attention and learning problems, and noise-induced hearing loss.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF):
- two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
- kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs
- children ages 8 – 18 spend more than 7 hours a day using electronic media, including television, computers, video games, iPods, and cell phones
Speech Language Pathologist Dawn Moore spoke with televeision show “My Carolina Today” about these dangers.
Wondering how to create timelines for media use? According to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) it is reccomended that children under two years old not watch any TV and that those older than two watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.