Toddlers, even babies playing with smartphones and tablets can be seen everywhere nowadays. But as more and more young children are given electronic games to play, some parents and researchers are questioning their effects and consequences.
Preliminary studies found that the more young children play video games, the less sleep they get. These new touch screen games can help teach dexterity and sharpen mental skills. However, they shouldn’t take away the life-regenerating sleep kids need.
New Study Found That Spending More Time In Front of a Screen May Also Lead To Less Sleep
A new research showed that for every hour spent playing on a device, young children get 15 minutes less sleep. The study team stated that:
“It isn’t a very a massive amount when you’re sleeping 10 -12 hours a day in total, but every minute matters in young development because of the benefits of sleep.”
Most experts agree toddlers need their sleep. It is while sleeping that their bodies grow, their hearts are strengthened and weight regulated. Their immune function improves, and the attention span and learning skills increase.
Sleep also helps them store up the energy needed to face the next day. If more sleep meant less crying and tantrums, every parent would insist on it.A good night’s sleep for a toddler or baby can be ensured by limiting the amount of screen time during the day. Do not allow them to play on the devices after dinner. Instead, you could play board games, go for a walk or take playful baths. Once settled in bed, you can tell them stories or read books that are gentle and comforting and will help ensure your child gets an adequate amount of rest.
Sleep is one of the essential building blocks of a healthy body and mind, regardless of age. But for babies and toddlers, it is absolutely critical to mental and physical growth. Let the electronic games be an occasional activity and ensure that sleep regains its prominent place in the life of a child.
A paper presenting the study results of this new study was published in the Scientific Reports journal.
Image Source: Pixabay
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When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.
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