Q:I am concerned that it is becoming harder these days to control my 11 year old son's media use. I don't remember having this problem a few years ago with our first child. Am I alone? Am I a parent who is too weak to set limits? Or is it true that media has become a parent's biggest competition?
A:You are correct in your finding that times have changed. In fact, earlier this year a landmark study was published by the Kaiser Family Foundation (www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf). Its results stunned even seasoned communication experts who have tracked trends over the years.
The Kaiser survey tracked media use over many years. In 2005, researchers concluded that a ceiling was reached: it would be impossible for children to consume more than 6.5 hours of media per day, unless they sleep less. The researchers were wrong!
The latest survey shows that children and youth between the ages of 8 and 18 spend 7.5 hours per day being exposed to some form of media. This number includes watching television, surfing the Internet, using Smartphones, playing video games, and listening to music. It does not include texting or the use of Twitter. (Twitter did not exist when the most recent survey was conducted.)
The authors point out that it is not unusual for children to multitask when exposed to media; they may do their homework, listen to music, and answer e-mails all at the same time. If one adds up all of the activities, it amounts to a whopping 11 hours of media every day!
If this is the problem, then what is the price we may pay as a modern culture? Consider the following findings:
- The trend is crystal clear that media has now become the biggest influence in the lives of young people, arguably bigger than parents, peers, and teachers.
- Experts agree that being exposed to violent media is associated with more aggressive behavior. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a Policy Statement on Media Violence (Pediatrics, Nov 2009).
- The jury is still out on the impact of television on Attention Deficit Disorders (ADDs), though the majority of developmental pediatricians feel it plays a major role in teaching children to focus only for short periods.
- The link between excessive media and poor grades seems to be strong. The Kaiser study confirmed that children who spend most of their wake time with media scored mostly C's or lower.
- The link between screen time and obesity is well established. Interestingly enough, when parents switch off the TV overweight children are not necessarily going outside to play; they switch over to video games or use their Smartphones to surf the Internet or watch You Tube videos.
- Exposure to television before the age of two years has been linked to long-term developmental delays, to the extent that both American and Canadian pediatric organizations now recommend against any TV exposure prior to age two years (impractical as that may sound).
- Last year, The Walt Disney Company was ordered by a judge to refund families who bought Baby Einstein videos in the hope that exposure to "educational TV" may boost their child's IQ. Developmental pediatricians felt so strongly about this that they initiated litigation against Disney for false advertising.
The problem of children and media has become so significant that Harvard established a Center on Media and Child Health. The director of this Center, Dr. Michael Rich, was quoted in a recent New York Times interview as saying, "With media so ubiquitous, it is time to stop arguing over whether it is good or bad and accept media as part of children's environment, like the air they breathe, the water they drink or the food they eat."
The solution to this ever-increasing issue may actually be simple, but difficult to execute consistently. The first step is for parents to take the time and energy to be aware of what their children are exposed to. Parents also have to set the tone at home and trim their own media use. For example, it would be wise to put the Smartphone away at supper time and make eye contact with the children.
Another easy way to trim media use is to avoid having a TV in the child's bedroom. The Kaiser data revealed that 70% of families allow children to have a TV in their bedroom; one-third had a computer with Internet access in the bedroom.
It is also wise to switch the TV off during supper time and instead have eye contact, eat meals together as a family, and show an interest in each other. This may sound like common sense to older parents and grandparents, but parents of the current generation - especially those with tweens, children between the ages 11 and 14 - know how hard it is to deal with a child "tethered" to video games.
Interestingly, a family dog may be a parent's best friend. A study was recently published indicating that when the whole family takes their dog for a walk, it makes a huge difference not just to the dog, but to every person in the family.
Here is one last, sad fact published by the recent Kaiser study: the only leisure activity that has become less popular is reading. It may be time for some parents to cut the cable, dust off some books, or take the kids for a neighborhood walk.
When children act and feel tired during the day, consider what they are doing once in bed. They may not actually go to sleep even though the lights are out; they may be playing video games under the sheets!
For more information on what the Canadian Pediatric Society has to say about children and media, see www.caringforkids.cps.ca.
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