Video Media and Your Child

This week, lets momentarily step away from covid (thank Gd!) and take a look at 2 recent studies about children and electronic media.

The first, from the University of Alberta (Canada), reports a strong correlation between increasing screen time ages 3-5 and subsequent diagnosis of ADHD. On average, they found, kids spend 1-4 hours per day in front of screens but that those with >2 hrs/d had a significantly increased likelihood of eventually being diagnosed with ADHD. Those children had a greater risk of both “externalized” mental health problems (“acting out”) and “internalized” difficulties(anxiety and depression) as well compared to children reporting <1/2 hr/d of screen exposure.   2 important related findings noted were a clear “dose related” response–the longer the screen time, the greater the problems reported, and children with > 2 hours active physical activity/day were relatively protected from the problem compared to baseline. Not really surprising, if you think about it.

That’s why AAP guidelines recommend maximum 1 hr/day screen time and for parents to maximize “co-viewing.”  Please note that there is no allowance for so-called “educational” videos.  Videos are videos–not too much! However, communication screen time (eg “FaceTime”) is not included in the limitation.  Given how much I love seeing my grandsons, I especially agree with that part!!

The second report, from The Lancet, found a significant association between increasing use of social media with mental health complaints in 13-16 year olds, in particular anxiety and depression.  Here, again, we note a “dose related”effect–more social media use meant greater severity of these problems. Notably, in girls the problems seemed to correlate  with sleep disturbances, decreased physical activity, and increased exposure to cyber-bullying, while in boys the problem seemed to be independent of those variables. We should also site that this was a report of “association”–the increased social media use and the mental health problems more commonly occurred in the same person. The study did not establish “causation” eg, that social media use CAUSED the problem in that person.  EDITORIAL COMMENT–surely, I have my suspicions!

Coming back to corona for a moment(and how can we escape?), we must realize that outside of school and summer camp, and with social distancing requirements, children frequently fall back on these modalities to escape feelings of loneliness and/or isolation (adults, too, of course).  So parents, I urge you to endeavor to help your children find safer, healthier, and even more productive pass times.  Best of all–whenever possible? Spend time with them! Read to/with them, play board games, outside play/sports (bike, walk, run, tennis–whatever).  It’s healthier (for both of you) and has the added benefit of being FUN!!

Send along questions and comments, and thanks for following.

Addendum to “opening up” 6/19

I wish to add a few brief thoughts that I neglected to include in my post of 6/19 regarding socializing during covid.  Firstly, keep your outdoor group social groups small, to allow for necessary social distance.  Secondly, with respect to hand hygiene, use disposable paper towelettes to dry hands after washing as opposed to reused terrycloth versions. Lastly, keep background music volume modest so everyone can converse at a modest volume.  Loud talking may lead  to virus spread.

I read a few good ideas regarding food: guests bring their own condiments to avoid mixing.  Serve individual served items like hamburgers, hot dogs, or chicken wings as opposed to steaks or items that must be cut and shared.

Enjoy.

 

Open the Schools

Now that we are in ACTUAL summer vacation, our thoughts turn to the upcoming academic year.  What now?  Last month the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly stated our position that we as a society must make every effort to get children physically back to school. There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, at best, distance learning is inconsistent. While children from high income areas seem to maintain academic achievement, studies show that middle income children lost 1/3 of math progress; low income kids lost 1/2. Overall, children fall behind by about 7 months on average; minority children, those with special needs, or in rural areas lose considerably more.

Secondly, for many families, school attendance is essential to parents earning a living.  This is difficult to measure and varies by region.  The Brookings Institute estimates that 4 weeks of closure cost Los Angeles $1.1 billion and NYC $1.5 billion. They estimate that if an additional 12 weeks are lost in the upcoming year it will cost the US $130-140 billion, with secondary losses caused by the particular disruption to the healthcare work force.

A third consideration are the nutritional/health effects on children’s lives. For many children of low income families, school provides the most nutritious meal of the day. Many districts tried to address this by distributing lunches to homes via idled school buses, a helpful but limited solution. Outside of school children gravitate towards unhealthy lifestyles with less exercise and more and less healthy snacking. The Journal of Sport and Health Science estimates that a school closure just through the end of 2020 will result in 1.3 million more cases of childhood obesity in the US.

The CDC has listed a detailed plan for school openings.  Here are some highlights:

• Everyone in the building wear a mask.
• Social distance–6 ft where feasible.
• Outdoor classes where/when feasible.
• Teachers travel between classrooms, children largely stay put.
• Lunches eaten at desks.
• Temperature checks, upon entry, periodically during the day.
• Clean surfaces regularly.
• Separate children’s belongings and limit use of shared items. Encourage stocking adequate supplies for individual use.
• Modify layout of desk placement, hall traffic(all one way), tape markers on floor for spacing, physical barriers where appropriate.
• Consider staggered scheduling, additional ancillary staffing to supervise children onsite but outside of classrooms/formal learning session to assist safe spacing.
• Policies need to be IN PLACE for children or employees who test positive, in particular if those individuals have been inside the building–do you close classrooms, the building, which contacts are sent home and for how long? What accommodations need to be made for school employees at high risk(older, chronic health problems)?

1/3 of parents express concerns that school closures have negatively impacted their child’s mental health. This means we need to RAISE guidance/counseling personnel capabilities.

All of this is likely to cost money, folks, when most communities are facing significant tax revenue shortfalls. So we, as a society, are going to have to face that and figure it out. Sacrifice likely will be required from each of us for the well being of our children and the future of our communities.

Thank you for following.