Medical X-Press – Staff Writer
“It’s not so bad to hand your child an iPad once in a while depending on how it’s used. Playing a game together or Skyping with Grandma? That’s OK. Helping your little one calm down or trying to keep peace in the house? Not so much. New guidelines announced by the American Academy of Pediatrics today say parents not only need to pay attention to the amount of time children spend on digital media – but also how, when and where they use it. For children ages 2 to 5, media should be limited to one hour a day, the statement says, and it should involve high-quality programming or something parents and kids can view or engage with together. With the exception of video-chatting, digital media should also be avoided in children younger than 18 months old. “Digital media has become an inevitable part of childhood for many infants, toddlers and preschoolers, but research is limited on how this affects their development,” says one of the lead authors of the statement Jenny Radesky, M.D., a developmental behavioral expert and pediatrician at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.”(more)