Increased screen time affecting children: Experts

Excessive screen time among children is leading to anxiety and other behavioural issues after the Covid-19 triggered lockdown, according to experts.

Pediatricians, psychiatrists and educators have called for the need for addressing the issue.

“Behavioural and emotional issues worsened in children of all age groups post-pandemic,” said Dr Samir Dalwai of the New Horizons Child Development Centre (NHD).

"Exposure to television and smartphones in children has increased during the lockdown. Though the parents were at home, they were busy with work. So, screen time in children as well as social isolation increased drastically as children were not able to venture out of the house. The entire normal sense of human social life was lost,” said Dr Dalwai.

Also Read: Getting children outside can help mitigate negative effects of screen time: Research

According to him, parents gave in to the child’s demands by allowing more screen time and there was no control over activities of daily living. “Post-pandemic, adults have resumed their routine as before and are trying to compensate by working harder but children are still left in the lurch. Children who were below 2 years directly went to school at the age of 4-5 but were not adapted to the social situation in school whereas children who were above 5 years pre-pandemic have missed out on academics. These children are lacking behind academically and are under immense stress to cope. Thus, behavioural and emotional issues have worsened in children of all age groups post-pandemic. In addition, those children who already had mild developmental issues are suffering even more post-pandemic,” said Dr Dalwai.

Dr Upendra Kinjawadekar, President, Indian Academy of Pediatrics said: “Child Development is one of the core aspects of child health and this has been impacted by environmental factors like nuclear families, gadget addiction, and over-emphasis on education. Developmental services need to individualise the intervention for every child for the child to do better.”

Veteran pediatrician Dr Y K Amdekar, who is the past President of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics said: “It is our responsibility to take care of children. And we believe that the children will be fine. But parents play a big part in the development of children. We only provide guidance, but parents play an important role in children's development. It is only because of the parents' efforts that the children recover quickly.”