There’s a tyke-nology problem.
It’s no secret that too much screen time can negatively impact developing minds.
However, now Swedish health officials say that toddlers should be banned from using digital media and TV completely, claiming it can lead to poor sleep, mental health issues and other problems.
The country’s Public Health Agency specifically recommended that children under 2 be forbidden from using the devices, Fortune magazine reported.
It also stipulated that kids between 2 and 5 should be restricted to a maximum of one hour of daily screen time, while those aged 6 to 12 should spend no longer than an hour or two a day on a device.
Teens between 13 and 18 years old shouldn’t be on screens for more than three hours a day, per the health organization’s no-screening proposal.
The state institution cautioned teens against using devices before bed, adding that the gadgets should be kept out of the bedroom at night.
This advice comes amid a global internet addiction crisis in which teens, tweens and even tykes are increasingly glued to screens amid the worldwide tech offensive.
“For too long, smartphones and other screens have been allowed to enter every aspect of our children’s lives,” announced the country’s Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed, according to Fortune.
The health official claimed that the country’s teenagers, aged 13 to 16, spend a staggering 6½ hours per day glued to their devices outside of school hours.
Meanwhile, their US counterparts are on their devices for an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes per day, studies have shown.
Forssmed said near-constant screen time left little time for “communal” pursuits, “physical activity” and even sleep.
He claimed that Sweden is suffering from a “sleep crisis” in which more than 50% of teens don’t catch enough doze time because they’re perennially surfing social media.
In addition, studies have shown that too much device use can lead to a host of adverse health effects, including depression, poor sleep and body dissatisfaction.
Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia discovered that babies and toddlers who are allowed screen time are more likely to display atypical sensory behaviors associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
It can also make the tots more prone to outbursts as the tech-addicted tykes aren’t interacting with their parents or other kids, which helps them learn to regulate their emotions.
Unfortunately, these tantrums often prompt parents to hand the little hellions an iPad to appease them, which only serves to perpetuate the cycle.
