As you get your families back into the school routine this week, many kids may be readjusting to less time in front of an iPad or cell phone.
WPTV Education Reporter and mom of two young children, Stephanie Susskind, has been having a lot of conversations with parents who say it seems like their kids don't know how to play anymore after spending so much time in front of screens.
At the same time, Susskind examined a new study out in JAMA Pediatrics that examines the relationship between early-childhood tablet use and outbursts of anger.
The study shows that child tablet use at age 3.5 years was associated with more expressions of anger and frustration by the age of 4.5 years. Kids prone to anger and frustration at age 4.5 years were then associated with more use of tablets by age 5.5 years. According to the study, the results suggest that early-childhood tablet use may contribute to a cycle that is deleterious for emotional development.
'Stuck on a screen'
Parents Emma Boileau and Luke Mohammed Khan enjoyed an afternoon with their three young children Tuesday at South Olive Park. Emma said, "They watch some TV, but we try to do mostly outdoor activities, play outside as much as we can."
Luke added, "Sometimes they are like, 'Oh, I want the phone or I want the TV,' so it's kind of difficult to manage that for sure."
Dr. Samantha Saltz is a Boca Raton-based child psychiatrist. She says the study does not surprise her.
"Children used to be engaged, on the playground, being able to be active, and now they are stuck on a screen, they are not active, they are sitting at home, they are not socializing the way they should be," she said. "So when they can't get their emotions out on a playground in a productive, healthy way, they get irritable, angry, and frustrated and in turn kind of lash out at home. So if the child gets angry when you pull away the screen and you just keep giving it back to them, they learn that temper tantrums will actually be the way to get what they want back."
Solutions for parents
So what can parents do? Dr. Saltz says first, be realistic with your expectations. Try cutting screen time in half, use countdown clocks and set a good example for your kids by putting down your own device.
She also recommends creating a device-free room or zone in your house. If your kids push back when tablet time is over, Dr. Saltz says make your children feel like they are in control.
"We want to do something called forced choices. That means we want to give our children two options — A or B. We don't want to negotiate with them. So we want to say you can go on the playground or you can play a Twister board game. Therefore the child feels like they are making their own decisions but really the parent is the one making the decision for them."
Emma and Luke say their kids handle the end of screen time pretty well, and they hope it stays that way.
"Usually we just turn off the TV and they just go about their business. It's not that hard," she said.
