Pandemic linked to significant jump in screen time for kids
Whether it was playing video games, doing homework or watching television, research out of Western University in London, Ont. found children were spending a lot of time in front of screens during the height of the pandemic restrictions.
“It went from just over two hours a day to almost six hours a day. Some parents reported their children were on screens for 13 hours a day,” said Emma Duerden, an assistant professor in Western’s Faculty of Education and a Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders.
Duerden and a research team that included members of Western’s Brain and Mind Institute (Diane Seguin, Elizabeth Kuenzel and J. Bruce Morton) conducted an online survey directed at parents with children ages six to 12.
The team was trying to evaluate how parents and children were faring during the restrictions, but the screen time numbers stood out.
"It's recommended [by the Canadian Paediatric Society] that for children over the age of five, that they have about two hours of screen time a day. So when we're seeing almost triple that amount a day, with some children really surpassing that, it becomes quite worrying," Duerden said.
The research was conducted at a time when schools were closed, playgrounds were taped off and socializing was limited. Parents were also facing their own workplace challenges.
"We don't know about the long-term effects of screen time on children's brain development and behaviour,” explains Duerden. “We do know that when we're sitting down and watching screens we're not doing other things that are very healthy for brain development. Things like exercising, reading, socializing with others."
One of the key questions is whether the screen time behaviours will stay with children beyond the pandemic. The Western team started that research in November of last year and it's ongoing, but early indicators show higher screen times are persisting.
"We're not seeing any changes in terms of decreases in screen time. So it's still high and it's staying high."
Duerden encourages parents to use the three M’s — ensure moderate use of electronics, monitor what children and seeing, and make screen time count by emphasizing educational opportunities.
She also says parents should pay close attention to changes in mood and behaviour during and after children have had screen time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.