With summer around the corner, how will you be navigating screens? This topic is a sign of the times, and speaks to the how much screens have become a part of many children’s everyday life especially over the course of covid. With screens not going away anytime soon, and yet also knowing the negative impacts of screen time, for many parents it can be hard to strike the right balance for your family and child(ren). An article from the Canadian Pediatric Society shares that passive screen time use and even background tv has negative effects on a child’s development including lower cognitive abilities, diminishing child-parent interactions, negative impact on executive functioning, and decreasing focused attention. In addition, in my experience, if your child has challenging behaviours, reducing screen time tends to have a positive impact. And most of us post-pandemic has heard the correlation between higher screen use and increased risk of mental health concerns including anxiety in depression, this includes for children, youth and adults. Lastly, if your child is going to use screentime the research supports reducing passive watching, and encouragement of educational and interactive screen engagement. Please find below 5 strategies to consider in navigating the terrains of screen time with your child(ren):
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AuthorI am a Registered Psychotherapist and Art Therapist. And I have been writing this blog since May 2021 about various topics including parenting, supporting adult and child mental health, and holistic approaches. The intention of this blog is to provide resources and information to others, however it is not intended to take the place of therapy. If you have any questions about anything written please reach out to me. Archives
June 2024
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