5 reasons why you should limit your child's TV time

Did you know that the American Academy of Paediatrics says that kids under 2 should not watch any TV and those older than 2 should watch no more than an hour of quality programming?

5 reasons why you should limit your child's TV time

Considering that we as parents usually tune in our television sets to kill time or when we’re getting bored, it is very hard for kids to avoid television. In some homes the television is on even without anyone watching. In fact many parents buy educational CDs for their kids in order to build their IQ.

However, experts say that anything in excess can be detrimental to your health. The same applies to TV as well. Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics says that kids under 2 should not watch any TV and those older than 2 should watch no more than an hour of quality programming? Here are five ways in which TV harms your child’s health.

Promotes bad behaviour

TV exposes kids to negative influences which promote bad behavior in them. TV shows and commercials usually show violence, alcohol, drugs use and sex. Always remember that a child’s mind is like that of clay and it forms an early impression on what it sees. These early impressions determine how he sees the world and affects his behavior later on in life.

Makes a child inactive

Watching TV also affects a child’s health and physical activity. The more television a child watches even in the first years of his life, the more likely he is to be obese and fit. Even though you kid doesn’t aspire to be a cricketing star in the future, his athletic abilities are important not only for his physical health, but predicting how physically active he will be as an adult.

Leads to a lack of sleep

Watching television close to bedtime will make it more difficult for your kid to fall asleep. Children need at least nine hours of sleep every night. Sleep problems and lack of sleep can have negative effects on your child’s performance in school and during extracurricular activities. Lack of sleep may also spark behavioral disorders, mood swings, memory issues and learning problems.

Impacts the vision

If you have ever paid attention to it, you’d know that kids like to stare into the TV screens without even winking the eyes. The longer you focus on an object, the more the eye muscles have to work, therefore when your kids watch TV without looking away from the TV screen it affects their eyes. Parents should ask their kids to sit at least 4 to 5 meters away from the television and should limit their screen time.

They start copying things

Children learn from what they see in their surroundings and try to copy the same thing. They don’t have the ability to discriminate between good and bad things. Sometimes kids may watch some inappropriate or violent things on television and may try and mimic them and then get in trouble. So parents should keep a check on what their child is watching on television.

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