LI Kids Spend Hours In Front Of Screens, New Poll Finds

Children are spending more and more time in front of screens, and many parents aren't trying to limit their children's screen time. That's according a Truth In Medicine poll just released by South Nassau Communities Hospital.

The hospital surveyed 600 people from Long Island and New York City, and found that screens — especially smart phones — dominate children's time. According to the survey, 65 percent of children spend three or more hours a day in front of screens. And 22 percent of them spend more than five hours with their eyes locked on.

And according to the poll, parents aren't helping. Only 25 percent said their efforts to limit their kids' screen time was effective. And 62 percent said they didn't use parental settings on their children's devices.

“Parents are not doing enough to limit the amount of time their kids spend on devices," said Dr. Warren Rosenfeld, chair of pediatrics at South Nassau. "There are evidence-based studies that continue to show associations between excessive media use and delays in brain development, especially among small children."

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, too much time in front of screens, especially in young children, can cause delays in cognitive, language, social and emotional development. It could also be a factor in childhood obesity. The AAP recomends that children two to five spend no more than an hour a day in front of screens for non-school purposes.

But the poll also showed that parents didn't know about those recommendations. And only 13 percent of those that had heard about them from their pediatricians.

"Pediatricians also need to do a better job of communicating the potential dangers of overuse of devices like smartphones, which are now everywhere," Rosenfeld said. "Pediatricians should urge parents to develop a family media plan with specific usage guidelines for each child and parent. Screen time should not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health."

Smartphones are the most common device that children are gluing their eyes to, with tablets and televisions not falling far behind. Forty-five percent of parents said they didn't even try to limit their kids' screen time.

The smartphone is the device eating up most of children’s non-academic screen time (33%), with the tablet (29%) and TV (28%) following close behind, the poll showed.

Nearly half of parents polled – 45 percent – said they don’t even try to limit the time their children spend on smartphones, tablets, computers and watching TV. Half of parents with children six and under said they used parental controls to limit screen time, but that drops off as kids get older. About 70 percent of parents of children 10 and under try to limit their kids' screen time, but only 36 percent of teens try.

And it's easy to see why: according to the poll, the average Long Island house has three smartphones, 2.89 televisions, two tablets and 1.65 computers. Most kids, however, don't use computers for non-academic purposes. Only 7 percent of kids spend most of their time in front of the computer, the poll found.

The study also found that families that limit screen time are more likely to eat dinner together.

“There is a clear correlation between knowing about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations about screen time and using parental controls, restricting screen time and having dinner together,” said Dr. Adhi Sharma, South Nassau's chief medical officer and executive vice president. “Smartphones and other devices obviously are essential now in most families, but we need to understand that while there are positive benefits, there can also be negative effects on healthy social development. Moderation is key. Discuss usage limits with your kids, limit your own usage, especially during ‘family time’ and stick to the plan you put in place.”

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