SACRAMENTO -- Dr. Melissa Arca is a part-time pediatrician and full time Mom, who blogs about parenting on Confessions of a Dr. Mom.
This examiner caught up with Arca to discuss the concerns about too much screen time with young children, especially under two years old.
Today, it is easy to simply hand over a mobile device with a game to keep children quiet and occupied while grocery shopping, over coffee chats, and other business related activities. So the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics study finding that too much screen time is harmful, may be discouraging for parents who have already incorporated the use of gadgets into daily life.
Not to worry encourages Arca.
“It’s never too late to make a situation better if you feel you have been relying upon electronic devices too much to occupy your child,” Arca said. “Especially with older siblings in the picture, the younger ones wind up with more exposure than the older ones did at that age.”
Arca encourages parents to simply moderate screen time, and when you are interacting with your child, face to face, be aware that just interacting with you, the parent, is important for their development; even if the interaction is in the execution of preparing a meal or folding laundry.
Engage the children.
“Keep it simple,” Arca said, “No TV in bedrooms, no iPhones to bed (turn them in and off at night), and use a timer for video games and other media. And unless you are taking long road trips, use time in the car to talk.”
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