Staying connected has never been easier with smart phones, computers, and tablets and as children are getting those devices at younger ages, their screen time has increased than previous generations. Family Services Manager at West Central Head Start Lisa Medina Foshay, states the impacts have been seen and the children enrolled in their programs undergo a vision and hearing screening:
“A lot of screen time really affected the children in terms of us finding out that there is a lot more vision concerns than we had noted before. In the first 45 days, there is a vision and hearing screening for every child. We actually have this fancy new machine that can give you an exact number of what that child’s vision is. Even though we get that, we refer them onto an optometrist. We have found that it has been 100% right on the mark with what the optometrist comes up with. We have a lot of kids that have received glasses based off that initial assessment.”
In an article by OSF HealthCare, Pediatrician Dr. Samina Yousuf recommends children under two have no screen time, 2 to 5 year olds get no more than one hour per day, and 5 to 17 year olds generally have no more than two hours per day, except for homework.
Kids’ screen time: How much is too much? | OSF HealthCare
