Many parents worry if their child plays too much on the computer or uses their cell phone as their main leisure activity.
But what can you do to minimize your screen time? Rewards or punishments usually do not help.
Set the right rules
With a few rules, parents can ensure that their children spend less time on the computer. This result comes from a study conducted by a US research team, which the scientists published in the journal “Pediatric Research”.
More than 10,000 people between the ages of 12 and 13 took part in the research.
Their parents were also asked how often and why they use the media.
Screen use during meals?
According to the study, children use computers, televisions, mobile phones or tablets more than average, with family members looking at the screen during meals. In many families, screen time also affects habits where children are allowed to look at mobile phones, tablets, etc. before they fall asleep. In these cases, children had more problems with usage behavior when dealing with video games, social media or their own cell phones.
According to the study, it definitely has an effect whether screens are used at the dinner table or whether they are banned before going to bed. When families set these rules, children used screens for more than an hour less.
Parents as positive examples
Jason Nagata from the University of California – the lead author of the scientific study – pointed out another important aspect. His understanding is that it is also important for parents to act as positive examples and limit personal screen use.
According to the data, children spend a lot of time in front of the screen if parents also use such technical devices frequently.
In this case, children would only imitate their parents. According to the study, parental measures such as prohibitions or rewards do not succeed in achieving their objective. For example, the staff mentioned the rule that children get more time with the media if their behavior is good and less time with the media if their behavior is bad. If parents still practiced this strategy during the study, their offspring even used the screens for much longer periods of time.
There is a risk of mental and physical problems
As the authors of the study emphasized, excessive use of screens can cause psychological and physical problems, sleep problems or obesity. Most of the time, sleep time suffers from longer screen time.
However, getting enough sleep is crucial for young teenagers. For this reason, researchers recommend keeping technical devices such as laptops out of children’s rooms or deliberately turning them off.
Adhere to the recommended age limits
An international research team led by Christian Montag from the University of Ulm also investigated the effects of continuous use of social media. Experts recommend that parents should reach an agreement with their children before they use the app for the first time about how media such as TikTok, Instagram or YouTube should be used.
In general, the researchers recommend that you only allow your own social media accounts from the age of 13 onwards. The scientists published these recommendations in the specialized journal “Addictive Behaviors”.
Explore social media together
According to scientists from the fields of psychology, psychiatry and social sciences, it makes little sense for children under the age of 13 to have access to these media because certain parts of the brain are not yet developed at that age .
Furthermore, according to current knowledge, there is a link between early media use and later addictive behavior.
In return, there is nothing wrong with parents and their children entering the world of social media together before the age of 13. Under these conditions, everyone involved will be better prepared to use social media later on.
Similar behavior by children
The results of the study show that parents lay the foundation for their daughters’ and sons’ later use of the media at a young age.
If parents are more active than average on social media, their children tend to emulate them. They acquire comparable behavior as they develop.
2024-07-15 22:36:06