Help Your Child by Limiting
Screen Time

-by Allison

You know children shouldn’t spend the day watching TV. But did you ever stop to realize that computer time, hand-held game time and TV time all fall under “screen time?” Screen time constitutes any time a child is in front of an illuminated screen of any size.

As a parent, it’s our job to limit the time a child is watching television and playing video games.

The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommendation is no more than two hours of screen time, for all ages of children, said Julie Roehrborn, MD, Sheboygan Pediatric Associates.

The top three reasons we should reduce our children’s screen time is to: 1) prevent childhood obesity, 2) prevent desensitizing kids to death or injury and 3) improve their sleep cycle.

There’s an epidemic of kids not being able to sleep very well, explained Reohrborn. It’s because they are next to a light box. They end up with delayed sleep syndrome.

In a document published in February 2010, AAP reported that preschool children can improve their health and reduce their chance of ... Read more information on limiting screen time for kids.

technology

What do the video game ratings mean?

The ESRB was formed in 1994, amidst rising concern over portrayals of adult content in video games. As of 2009 it has reviewed more than 18,000 games and assigned them ratings. As with the MPAA, the rating the ESRB gives a game is not an indication of quality (E is not for Excellent and T is not for Terrible) but rather an indication of what type of content you can expect to find in the game. > Read about the ESRB ratings for video games.

Effects of Video Games on Children

Each year video games continue to grow in popularity. Many parents wonder what effect video games will have on their children. Studies show that there are positive benefits to playing video games. > Article on the effects of video games on children.

Educational Games Worth Exploring

If a child is bound and determined to play video games, it’s nice to know that there are educational options out there to help your child grow in brain power and keep basic educational skills strong... > Article on educational video games.

Video Game Violence

Video games are becoming increasingly more realistic as video and computer technology advances. This has served to make the video game companies part of a multi-billion dollar, world-wide industry; but it has also raised a number of questions regarding children and exposure... > Read about kids and video game violence.

Entertainment Software Ratings Board:

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) is a non-profit group that provides rating services to video games similar to those the MPAA offers for movies.
> ESRB - Entertainment Software Ratings Info.

Recording Industry Association of America, Parental Advisory Label:

Unlike television programs and movies, songs are not rated based on age-appropriateness. There is just one label to help parents, which is the Parental Advisory Label (PAL).
> PAL - Parents Advisory Label Info.