For babies Less than and More than 2 years
Is your baby getting addicted to screen time? Have you experienced any behavioral changes in your baby after introducing him to screens? Not listening to you? Not paying attention? Not interested in other activities? Then it’s very important to limit screen time but don’t completely stop giving some screen time to your kids.
Today we live in a world where everything is becoming digital and we are so much dependent on electronics that without them we think we cant survive. We satisfy all our needs through them. Ordering food, medicines, furniture, cars, bikes, clothes, etc , and much more are all in one single gadget twhichis your smartphone. Life has become very easy since you get everything you want just by swiping your fingers on the phone.
Every product has its advantages and disadvantages. That’s why it’s important to know to what limit can we use these products. And how to decrease the screen time for your kids.
Alternatives of Screen Time:-
For the first 2 years, your brain development is in a very rapid phase. 80% of the brain development is complete within these 2 years. Thatswhy it’s important to build a strong and sharp brain for your baby now itself. You can replace your baby’s screen time with some other interesting activities like brain games, outdoor games, and indoor games. You have to take your time out for your baby. If you are a homemaker then it will be easy for you to help your baby play with you. Babies less than 2 years old are already busy exploring their surroundings. So they don’t need screen time at all for time to pass. Some parents give screentime to their babies for education purposes. To learn rhymes, ABC, and numbers. This is also good but it should be to a certain limit. No more than one hour in a day.
- Take your baby out for a walk or to a park daily at least for one hour.
- Let him play with his neighbor’s kids and friends.
- Give him blocks and tell him to arrange them.
- Buy some interesting toys like a cycle, an electric car, and colorful blocks.
- Balloons and swings are a very good option if you want your baby to be busy playing.
- Buy baby books and read them to them. It helps him gain knowledge and improve his vocabulary and speech.
- Engage your baby with the family members to learn to be social and to learn values and culture with them.
- Talk to him and keep telling him stories.
- Use quality screen time for education, science, brain development games, and educational apps.
- Family time and bedtime stories will keep your baby away from electronics.
Let your baby explore his surroundings and environment. Let him experience all sounds, different tastes, and different emotions. The WHO (World Health Organisation) has already given a guideline regarding screen time in kids. They recommend that:-
- Babies below one year shouldn’t be exposed to any electronic gadgets like phones, tablets, laptops, TV, etc.
- Kids from 2 to 5 years should be given only one hour of screen time. Make sure that the gadget is not close to his eyes. Maintain at least a 12-inch distance from the eyes.
- Children from 5 to teenagers should be given only 2 to 3 hours of screen time a day.
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Side Effects of Screen Time:-
- Obesity:- As children spend most of their time sitting ji in front of the screen without doing any activity, all they eat in a day won’t digest properly and adds fat to their bodies This causes obesity or overweight which can lead to serious health issues in the future.
- EyeSight:- You may have seen small children wearing spectacles and complaining about headaches and eye pain. This is mainly caused due to the radiation coming out from the screen. However, eyesight can also be caused due to other health issues in the body like lack of vitamins and a less nutritious diet.
- Deep sleep:- The radiations from the screen affect the brain so much that they may interfere with your baby’s night sleep. They may wake up in between the nights. Deep night sleep is very necessary for the healthy growth of the body in both babies and adults. Babies who sleep watching screens won’t get a good night’s sleep. Engage your baby in bedtime stories.
- Mood Problems:- If you take away the screen after some time you may see your baby crying, angry, and getting cranky. This means he is getting addicted to it. This can cause a serious issue in the future.
- Low grades in school:- If your baby is using screen time for other purposes like gaming, cartoons, animation, movies, songs, etc instead of educational purposes then it may deeply affect his studies.
- Behavioral changes:- When you call your baby, they don’t listen to you as they are busy watching the screen. They may not be interested in any other activity too. Because there is so much to see on the screens of them, tell their surroundings to seem very dull to them.
Try to avoid giving phones to your babies in their hands You can use a laptop or a TV to watch their favorite cartoons. If you don’t have these electronics, then you have to put your phone a little far away from him and let him watch his ffavoriteshow without touching it.
The screen of the phones emits harmful radiation which goes into the skin of your kid if he is holding it continuously and causes hormonal imbalance, sleep disturbances, brain damage, and skin cancer.
Disadvantages of Screen time:-
Parents should always keep an eye on what their kids are watching on their screens. Or else they may be exposed to some bad content on the internet like:-
- Videos of violence and bad behavior.
- Sexual Content.
- Misleading information.
- Unhealthy advertisements.
- Videos of stunts and fights.
- Hacking.
- Negative stereotypes.
- Cyberbullies.
Never stop your baby from using Screens. This may affect his mental health and he may hide from you and use them. Be like a friend to your kid. Enjoy some screen time together and let him share everything with you.
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