Too much screen time can psychologically harm kids

A new study suggests that over 2 hours a day watching tv or playing computer games could put a child at a greater risk for psychological problems. Activity is good for both the physical and mental health of children. There is son evidence that screen viewing associates with bad behavior, researcher Dr. Angie Page said. She along with others have studied over 1,000 kids ages 10 to 11. The kids filled out a questionnaire (how long in front of a tv/computer and their mental state) and an accelerometer measured their physical activity. Psychological difficulties were about 60% higher for kids spending more than 2 hours in front of a screen compared to the kids who spent less than 2 hours in front of a screen. Problems increased if kids did less than 1 hour of daily exercise in addition to increased screen time. Dr. Thomas N. Robinson did a related research and found that limiting screen time reduced weight gain, aggression and consumer behaviors in kids. Robinson found that kids stuck to a screen-time budget.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39612834/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

I agree that people should put a limit on the amount of time kids spend on the computer and watching the television. For kids in elementary school they can use the computer to learn some of the concepts they are learning in school and if it is just for fun then it can be counted as their time in front of the screen, but I think that if a child needs to use the computer for homework that it shouldn't be counted as their time in front of a screen. Also, kids in middle school or high school shouldn't have a set limit of screen time because I know that a lot of my homework uses the computer to write papers, to create graphs for math class, and to even research some historical events.

Sometimes sticking to a screen limit can be hard and kids lose track of time. If this happens maybe they can do some more physical activity to balance out the time they spent watching tv or on the computer. Or they could just subtract it from the next days limit. There are numerous ways they can make up for the extra screen time. I also think that if a child does some extra physical activity that they should be allowed a few extra minutes of screen time.

There are a lot of bad stuff for kids to see on the Internet and even on some tv shows, so they can encourage bad behavior. As for the psychological problems, I really don't know about them but I think that kids could have psychological problems if they watch too much tv or are on the computer a long time.