Guides and advice

Screen Time Awareness

We know that there are many positives about screen time, according to a recent survey conducted by RCPCH, children stated the following as the top 3 positives:

  • Gives you knowledge
  • It’s entertaining and enjoyable
  • Provides you with more opportunities to reach a wider community

We have all seen a natural increase over recent months as screen time has allowed us to access work and learning and most importantly keep in touch with family and friends when we have been unable to see them. However, now that we are beginning to make the journey out of lockdown, and we are back at school for our learning, we need to think about how much screen time we are having. Some issues associated with too much screen time include:

  • Loss of social connection - it stops you from talking to the people around you
  • Eye concerns - it can hurts your eyes, make them tired/blurry if you are on screen for too long
  • Sleep interference - screen time before bed can stop you from sleeping and having a screen in your room (TV, mobile phone, iPad, games console etc) also prevents a good sleep pattern as the temptation to watch, respond or play can be hard to ignore.

As we approach the Easter holidays, we thought it would be a good time to have a think about  how we can reduce the time spent on screen, and do some physical  activities instead. Here are some top tips to help you manage family screen time.  So let’s all try and TURN OFF our screens and GET ACTIVE!

 If you want to find out a little bit more about the health impacts of screen time, have a look at the fact sheet for parents (below) that has information about the impact and ideas to help you make changes.