American tech insiders (aka “Silicon Valley Parents”) have been limiting their own children’s use and exposure to screens for years. They send their kids to low-tech and no-tech schools, make their nannies sign “no screens” contracts, and spy on their nannies to make sure they aren’t breaking those contracts
Of course, studies revealing that kids are adversely impacted by screen use and exposure have been published for years also. For those keeping track, here’s another one from Study Finds:
Toddlers who spend under an hour in front of screens develop better brains
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Keeping toddlers off the iPad and encouraging them to run around and get some fresh air may help their brain in the long run. A new study finds that regular physical activity and less screen time is key to developing a toddler’s executive function, including their ability to pay attention, shift between tasks, and learn to make good decisions.
Moreover, the study shows that children around two years old who spent less than an hour a day on electronics and exercised daily showed better cognitive skills than those who did not, according to scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“Executive function underlies your ability to engage in goal-directed behaviors,” explains Naiman Khan, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign kinesiology and community health professor and study author, in a statement.. “It includes abilities such as inhibitory control, which allows you to regulate your thoughts, emotions and behavior; working memory, by which you are able to hold information in mind long enough to accomplish a task; and cognitive flexibility, the adeptness with which you switch your attention between tasks or competing demands.”
The findings are in line with diet and physical activity recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Their guidelines advocate for less than 60 minutes of looking at screens every day, daily physical activity, eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables, and avoiding or at the very least, not drinking as many sugary drinks. Previous research found that children who adhered to the AAP recommendations showed better executive function in adolescence. The team sought to find when this relationship begins, and whether it starts as early as toddler age.
