Dangers of Screen Time

            Parents can strengthen their families, communities, and nations by limiting the time that their children and teenagers spend looking at screens. Early results from a $300 million study funded by the National Institute of Health say that brains of adolescents are physically damaged by smartphones, tablets, and video games. 

           The ongoing study will follow 11,000 nine-to-ten-years-olds for ten years to determine how the brain, emotional development, and mental health are impacted by childhood experiences.  The study is already showing results, such as lower scores on thinking and language tests for those who spend more than two hours a day looking at screens. 

            Parents who are considering technology with screens may want to rethink their gifting.

Every child and teenager wants to receive a Smartphone, tablets, video games, or other item of technology for Christmas, and most parents want to give them what they desire. However, wise parents will either gift their offspring something besides technology, or they will put strict limits on the use of them. The world needs the rising generation to be as intelligent and capable as possible, and it seems that limited screen time is the way to do it. By limiting screen time parents can help their families, communities, and nations to grow stronger.