The American Academy of Paediatrics (APP) has this week issued renewed recommendations on screentime for children, amending their previous advice to reflect our ever-changing reliance on technology.
Ari Brown, the Chair of the APP’s Children, Adolescents and Media Leadership Working Group, shared the updates with Parents.com this week, admitting that the introduction of tech devices into the classroom spurred on the change.
The AAP revoked its previous ‘two hour rule’, whereby parents were advised to allow no more than two hours’ worth of screentime a day for their kids; instead, the AAP is recommending the following guidelines:
- Set limits on the use of social media, internet and tech devices in the exact same way as you would with any other aspect of your child’s life.
- Teach your kids to be kind and well-behaved online, and set the example yourself.
- Engage your kids in “talk time” so that their online activity is balanced with face-to-face interaction with you, the family, and their friends.
- Organise tech sessions into your ‘family time’, so that you are all engaging with technology and the virtual world together.
- Research and keep on top of the apps, platforms, sites and programmes your children are using, so that you can always stay one step ahead.
- Set limits and always encourage a balance between play in the virtual world and the ‘real’ world
- Create ‘tech-free zones’ in the home so that kids don’t become over-dependent on their gadgets, and they know there are boundaries regarding their use.
