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Top 5 Dangers Of Too Much Screen Time And 5 Ways To Avoid Them
Written by
Emily W.
Did you know screens could stunt your kid’s development by up to 74%? That staggering delay could be responsible for a lack of focus, a struggle to retain information, an inability to complete complex tasks, or a lack of coordination. These developmental delays can have a catastrophic impact on your kid’s adult life.
While it might seem daunting to start another temper tantrum by dragging your kid away from their cartoons to play something else, these toys are a guaranteed way to get them to choose another activity.
Danger #1: Delayed Learning
If you notice it’s difficult for your child to pay attention in class, understand simple instructions, or express themselves clearly, they could be showing important warning signs for developmental delays.
Too much screen time limits their interactions in the real world, particularly with playtime. According to studies, those active, laughter-filled moments are crucial for developing the cognitive ability to solve problems like the ones in their homework. The blue light from the phone, TV, and iPad also messes with their sleep which in turn hurts their memory and ability to learn new things.
Solution: Activate Your Kid’s Brain With Cognitive Toys
These toys are proven to activate the pre-frontal cortex which is responsible for making decisions and having self-control and is crucial for your kid’s ability to function in the real world.
This building kit puts a real (safe!) drill in their little hands so they can build and take apart a whole world of structures. Using the drill and the pieces sharpens their hand-eye coordination and precision. However, getting the pieces to fit how you want them isn’t easy. Your kid will have to use their problem-solving skills to solve the puzzle.
The Montessori Activity Center is a fantastic value since you get 5 learning toys in 1. Your younger child will never run out of things to learn with alphabet blocks, an abacus, a clock, a whiteboard, and a maze. They’ll organically learn their numbers and math as well as recognize letters and shapes. This toy actively engages their prefrontal cortex which is usually dimmed while watching cartoons.
Danger #2: Poor Social Skills
There’s a concept called Theory of Mind which, put simply, is the ability to understand others’ thoughts and feelings. Healthy adults learn this skill naturally as they interact with other people.
When your kid watches a lot of TV or plays a lot of screen games, they spend less time interacting with people. This makes it harder for them to read facial expressions and body language. The result could be a slightly awkward kid who has trouble empathizing or understanding the “mood” of a given situation, like a serious or even dangerous moment.
You may have noticed this happening if your kid sometimes thinks you’re angry when you’re not, doesn’t pick up on hints, or prefers to play alone because socializing is too overwhelming.
Solution: Help Your Kid Make Friends With Social Toys
When you give your kid a common interest with other kids, it relieves the pressure they might feel to do and say the right things since they’ll be focused on the cool toys in front of them. You can turn around their delayed social skills in just a few days with the right toys.
This jelly balloon ball has a magic way of attracting kids from miles around. You blow it up and lean, bounce, squish, and roll around with the balloon which is made of flexible and pop-proof plastic.
Your kid will have to cooperate with other kids to take turns throwing, squishing, and bouncing the ball together which often involves negotiation and empathy. It’s a major hit at pool parties, birthday parties, and park outings where your kid is guaranteed to make a few new friends.
It doesn’t take long for kids to get into the Animal Bean Bag Toss game. After they land one bean bag through the hole, they’re hooked. They learn how to engage in competition and read others’ facial expressions and body language when they win and lose and feel happy, eager, and disappointed. They also have to learn fairness and how to follow the rules which are all skills that will follow them into their adolescence and make it easier to make friends.
Danger #3: Lack Of Focus
In today’s day and age, entertainment for kids is fast-paced with constantly changing stimuli from short video clips, quickly changing scenes in video games, and brief text to read. So when slower-paced activities come along like reading a book or doing their homework, your kid isn’t prepared and they might see the task as insurmountable.
This lack of focus is apparent when your kid struggles to complete simple tasks like cleaning their room or following simple instructions. They might also interrupt frequently in conversations or have trouble following along, all of which can make it harder for them to maintain relationships later in life.
Solution: “Trick” Them Into Focusing on Fun
Sure, you could give them a chessboard and tell them to have fun. But if your kid is already struggling to focus, you need to start small with toys that are engaging and activating without intimidation. The goal is to get them excited to solve problems and learn incognito.
Your kid is challenged to arrange colorful beads in complex puzzle patterns. They’ll have to dial in their attention and concentration to solve the puzzle. It activates their cognitive abilities with problem-solving and strategy since they have to think a few steps ahead to achieve their mini-goal. Plus, as a bonus, it’s portable so you can take it with you anywhere which is fantastic for car rides and restaurants.
Building this marble track requires deep focus and trial and error. As your child connects, disconnects, shapes, and builds new pathways for the marble their neurons are forming new synaptic connections and strengthening cognitive flexibility and executive function – which is all just a fancy way of saying it trains their brain to focus.
Danger #4: Myopia
An estimated 5% of preschoolers, 9% of school-aged children, and 30% of adolescents suffer from myopia or nearsightedness. While this could simply come down to genetics, many kids are suffering because of too much screen time.
When your kid watches a tablet or their phone, they spend a lot of time focusing on objects up close, and even worse, with harmful blue light. This strains their eyes in a crucial stage of brain development and could vear them off on a negative track.
You might have noticed your child squinting a lot, rubbing their eyes, and getting frequent headaches. Those are all signs of myopia, but it’s easy to fix before it gets out of hand.
Solution: Outdoor, Long-distance Toys
Studies show that children who spend more time outdoors have a lower risk of developing myopia compared to those who spend most of their time indoors on screens. These toys focus on alternating close and far vision, particularly in natural, outdoor light.
The Dual Rocket Launcher has two pedals and two foam rockets. Your kids stomp on the pedals and the rockets go flying. It’s only natural that they look up and follow the trajectory of the rocket until it lands then chase them down to go again. Focusing on a faraway object in natural light does wonders to offset the dangers of staring at a close-up screen with blue light.
When your kid and their friends throw the boomerang, they follow it with their eyes while it zips far away and quickly circles back. They have to exercise their eyes to keep track as it moves through the sky. They’ll be playing outside so they also get the benefit of natural light. After a few days with the boomerang, you should notice a significant improvement in your kid’s hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and hopefully squinting and headaches.
Danger #5: Motor Skills
Motor skills are your ability to make small and big movements like picking up your coffee mug or walking to the store. As adults, we take this simple stuff for granted. For kids, however, they have to learn and develop these skills.
When your kid is perched in front of a computer screen for long periods of time or tapping and swiping on a phone, their muscles aren’t getting the stimulation they need to develop coordination, balance, and strength.
Solution: Stimulate Their Muscles With Active Play
Simple activities like running, jumping, and climbing have a massive improvement on your kid’s fine and gross motor skills. If you have a kid who isn’t naturally active, these toys inspire them to move and get stronger without realizing they’re getting exercise.
To balance on this pogo ball you need to activate your muscles and coordinate your movements. It’s totally addictive to stay on, especially when you start bouncing around. Your kid will strengthen their motor skills as they hop and wobble and grip the handles tightly with their hands.
It’s similar to the one you had when you were a kid, but this version is safer. It has a black strap to secure the ankle ring to the skipping rod and soft material around the ring to protect your ankles. It’s an activity they can do alone and they jump, skip, and twirl for hours trying to beat their last time without tripping.
Conclusion
While there’s no point in eliminating screens from your life altogether, it’s crucial that parents take the necessary precautions at home to help their kids develop in a healthy way and give them the best chance at a fulfilling, happy adult life.