New Study Finds Changes In Brain Wiring Among Children Who Get Increased Screen Time

As the amount of screen time and the dependency on technology increases, the more our children are at risk. A recent article published by Solarina Ho from the CTV News, discusses a new study that has found a change in the wiring of children's who have an extended period of screen time.

Please see below for some exerts from the article. For the link to the full article, please click the link at the bottom of the page. 

Preschoolers who spend more time in front of a screen have lower structural integrity of white matter in areas of the brain – or brain wiring that relates to language, literacy, imagination, and executive function such as self-regulation, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Researchers found that 16 to 56 per cent of those areas of the brain were negatively affected by higher screen use.

Some key recommendations by various pediatric associations include:

• Keep children off screens for as long as possible when they are younger. The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) recommends waiting until 2 years old.
• Limit regular screen time for children 2 to 5 years of age to less than 1 hour per day.
• Avoid screen time for at least an hour before bedtime.
• No screens in the bedroom and at meal times, or set daily “screen-free” times and locations.
• Watch or be engaged with your child when possible during screen time and choose high-quality programming.

Full article and video: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/study-finds-changes-in-brain-wiring-among-young-children-who-get-more-screen-time-1.4669114

Another helpful article regarding issues of extended screen time in children:  https://www.todaysparent.com/family/discipline/screen-time-rules-from-a-teacher-whos-seen-them-work/