Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia studied 2,750 children to evaluate their physical activity and the time they spent on e-mail, text messaging, television, video games, and surfing the Internet. They then measured the children's scores on physical fitness tests.

As "screen time" increased, fitness levels decreased. This effect was stronger for girls.

Dr. Louise Hardy, author of the study, said that two hours a day appears to be the tipping point. Children who spend more than that amount of time staring at a screen are less likely to stay in shape.

Labels: video_games, physical-fitness, screen-time

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A new study from Iowa State University found that playing video games and watching television is linked to a child's inability to pay attention.

• Researchers studied 1,323 children and found a link between "teacher-report reported attention problems" and increased exposure to television and video games.
• The children were in middle childhood and late adolescence. When earlier attention problems and gender were statistically controlled, the association between entertainment and attention problems remained significant.
• The authors said that their study does not mean video gaming causes Attention Deficit Disorder.

The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.
 

Labels: video_games, screen-time

Posted By: 4ADHD.com 1 Comment

A number of studies have explored the effects of media and computer games on children. Many have made supposed discoveries that increased ‘screen time’ exacerbates ADHD symptoms. What the studies don’t report is that limited exposure to educational or interactive content, monitored by a parent, can actually be good.

“Unless your family chooses no screen time (a perfectly fine choice, but clearly not feasible for all), the best payoff is choosing TV shows, websites, mobile apps and games that suit your own children’s age, developmental stage, needs, interests and abilities.” [Source: The Huffington Post]

Your kids will only benefit from limited screen time if the time away from TV and media is spent doing something active and/or productive. If you don’t want your child playing video games, get out an old school board game and play with him. If you don’t want him playing Wii Soccer, play the real thing with him outside.

Labels: computers, screen-time

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 4 Comments