Screen time is an increasingly concerning topic amongst parents, teachers, and other health professionals. While technology and screens can be used for learning, there are many reasons why play should be priority.
Obviously, physical health should be considered when discussing reasons for limiting screen time. Active play, such as running, jumping, and climbing, promotes healthy growth and physical fitness. Excessive screen time can contribute to health issues like obesity, poor posture, and weakened muscles. But did you know that screen time can impact other areas of development as well?
Here are some other reasons play should be prioritized and screen time should be limited:
Cognitive Development
Play provides mental challenges for practicing problem-solving, critical thinking, and cognitive development. Many screen-based activities, even ones that suggest they contain educational content, offer limited cognitive engagement and can even hinder academic progress. Play activities such as puzzles or games are needed for increasing memory, clinical thinking, and decision-making.
Social Development
Play that involves interaction with peers fosters crucial social skills that are difficult to acquire through screen-based activities. Through play, children learn to cooperate, negotiate, share, and resolve conflicts with their peers which are essential for building strong relationships throughout life. On screens, they miss out on these vital interactions.
Creativity and Imagination
Active, imaginative play encourages children to use their creativity to build stories, scenarios, and worlds. Engaging in this type of play allows children to develop problem-solving skills and creative thinking. Screen time tends to be more passive, with children consuming content created by others rather than actively engaging their own creativity.
Communication Skills
When children engage in face-to-face play, they learn communication skills. Children learn to label objects, ask for turns, or request help. They also learn non-verbal communication such as making eye contact, interpreting body language, and understanding social cues when playing with others. Excessive screen time can lead to difficulties in interpersonal relationships as there is less opportunity to practice navigating social cues and communicating effectively with others.
Emotional Regulation
Play allows children to express their emotions and cope with stress in a healthy manner. This is important for children to understand and manage more complex emotions. On screens, children become passive consumers of content, missing the opportunity to engage with their feelings and develop emotional resilience and problem-solving.
Sleep Patterns
Screens emit a blue light that can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to insomnia and sleep-related problems in children. Engaging in active play and establishing a screen-free period before bedtime can lead to better sleep and improved overall well-being due to ample rest.
Focus and Attention
Prolonged screen time can lead to shortened attention spans and difficulties with focus. These issues can follow children into academic settings, making it difficult for children to learn and engage in the classroom. Playing, reading, or games require sustained attention which can help improve concentration.
Reduced Screen Addiction
Excessive screen time can lead to screen addiction, which can have negative consequences on a child’s well-being. Read more about screen addiction here. Encouraging play helps reduce the risk of screen addiction and fosters a healthier relationship with technology.
In a world where childhood is increasingly digitized, the importance of play cannot be overstated. Although technology and screens have a place in children’s lives, it’s important to strike a balance between screen time and play.
Play offers a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits that can help a child’s overall development. It's through play that children learn the skills and emotional resilience they need to thrive in life. As parents, caregivers, and educators, we should actively encourage and nurture play in all its forms, recognizing it as an essential component of a child's holistic development. Provide opportunities for children to use active play due to its incredible power to foster creativity, enhance cognitive abilities, support emotional growth, and lay the groundwork for a bright future.
Comments