What’s the ideal screen time for a 5 year old? Ophthalmologist shares guidelines

With screen time histories looking like a metropolitan cityscape, we are collectively dooming ourselves to a future controlled by our handheld devices. What’s alarming, is that our toddlers are quickly following suit. Often an occoupational hazard, burnt out and over worked parents and caregivers are resorting to leaving their kids with mobiles and tablets.

Young and easily impressionable, children get equally hooked (if not more) to the world of audio-visual. When adults are looking at 8-9 hours of phone usage a day, are little kids really to blame?

Indianexpress.com spoke to Dr Vidya Nair Chaudhry, Senior Consultant- Ophthalmology and Refractive Surgery, Aakash Healthcare, New Delhi to understand the impact of screen time on children and the ideal amount they must be exposed to.

What happens to children if their screen time increases?

“Studies show that increased screen time impacts children’s attention spans. Kids suffer from hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder along with issues in concentration and social interaction,” she said.

“We’ve been noticing that more and more children are recording high negative powers. Because of online classes screen time has increased, resulting in a phenomenon known as quarantine myopia,” said Chaudhry.

“Most kids are glued to handheld devices and view electronic screens at a distance less than 2 feet away. This leads to lengthening of their eyeballs at a rapid rate and ends up damaging their eyes,” she added.

The lack of outdoor activity as a result of rising screen times can make kids unfit and lethargic, posing as a double whammy, according to Chaudhry.

So, what’s the ideal amount?

Considering the post-covid educational landscape, Chaudhry differentiates screen times as educational and recreational. “When a child is doing homework online, that screen time doesn’t count. But on other occassions, watching teleivision or streaming fun content should not be allowed more than an hour,” she said.

“Screens are great babysitters. The general consensus among the medical fraternity is that children below the age of 5 should not be allowed more than 45 minutes to 1 hour of screen time, that too with parental guidance and supervision to ensure they are not going too close to the screens,” she added.

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