Screens May Affect Your Child's Brain Development | Better | NBC News

Children using screens from an early age impacts the development of their brain. But could this be a good thing?

NBC News is a leading source of global news and information. Here you will find clips from NBC Nightly News, Meet The Press, and original digital videos. Subscribe to our channel for news stories, technology, politics, health, entertainment, science, business, and exclusive NBC investigations.

Connect with NBC News Online!

Screens May Affect Your Child's Brain Development | Better | NBC News

[pida]

Consuming hours and hours of entertainment on screens each day is a big problem, and I believe this is reducing many kids' attention spans and their ability to focus on slower-paced things (like teachers writing on chalkboards). Think ADHD. Parents should put screen time limits in place and provide non-screen alternatives for the kids (legos! paper books! arts & crafts!), not to mention encourage them to spend a lot of time outside each day if possible. Cheers...

[SuraDoes]

As someone who was “raised by a television, ” I can say how detrimental it is to watch TV for hours straight daily. My brain gets lazy, frustrated and emotionally dysregulated. I am 100% sure it’s part of the reason why I have ADHD. As an adult, I am struggling big time. I’m working on myself and I know that when I have children, they will not be using screens for anything but schoolwork if I can help it. They will exert mental and physical effort for everything, practice mindfulness, play outside and develop a healthy growth mindset.

[mamtapawar]

Once children start watching on screen they get addicted they don't want to play outdoor so it's better to don't give them phone till the time their brain develop.

[robertvon]

My father made the worse mistake of giving me games and a screen. Parents and children, if you are reading this. Please reduce time on screens. It dramatically reduced my ability to socialize and also developmentally delayed me. Please go out and play. Dont stay inside all the time.

[americohagim]

Then why are we still using zoom 8 hours a day straight?

[pattyrendon]

As soon as she said that mice were being Risk Takers I envisioned a mouse drunk driving

[welkerroad]

Dirt works wonders for children’s imagination. Whatever you can do to get your hands dirty will go along way.

[cheese]

As a gen z who's been growing with my little pony and all the cartoons available on tv... I gotta say that I learned more life lessons about empathy than the majority of adults around me have...or maybe it's just my personality idk...but the point I'm trying to make is learning how to be a good empathetic considerate and kind person can be achieved even if you develop little to no ability to socialize and interact with people

[tejashreevaidya]

How can a mouse staying calm in stressful situation be good. Like if a cat comes, he had to react on impulse for protecting themselves. This shows lack or inability to analyse the situation and can prove fatal

[skblix]

You made me watch a screen is this bad for my health😂😂

[trutherror]

Learning games great, social media for children will destroy them.

[luissantos]

Many baby’s now a days have their own freakin tables 😂

It’s crazy I’m 20 and I didn’t have any devices to use until I was maybe 11 and up..

[forrestgump]

eh, when did painting, reading and writing with a feather (?) become a part of evolution? The key is not moderation with screen time it's exposing kids to variety of activities so they can actually learn something while doing them. Taking screen time away and replacing that with nothing will not do anything and more importantly, it won't fix the lack of parental involvement.

[DiligenT-]

Well, can anyone suggest what is the best alternative?

[shawngrandstaff]

finally someone says there are benifits to screens

[___Anakin.Skywalker]

Screen time can result in a condition called virtual autism, especially for children 1-4 years old. I'm warning everyone to please limit your kids screen time.

[yusufmahrus]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 *🧠 Screen time's impact on child brain development*
- Excessive screen time during critical periods (birth to age three) can hinder fundamental skill development.
- Screens may impede the development of social interaction skills and empathy.
- Sensory overload from screens can lead to stress hormone release and addictive behaviors.
01:24 *🐭 Potential positive effects of screen time*
- Some studies suggest screen time exposure can desensitize mice to stress.
- Screen time may prepare children for the fast-paced, high-stimulus modern world.
- Not all screen time is equal; moderation and content quality are essential considerations.
02:06 *📺 Conclusion: Moderation and balance in screen time*
- Screen time moderation is crucial for a child's overall development.
- Children should learn to function both with screens and in the real world.
- Educational content can have different effects compared to non-educational or violent media.

Made with HARPA AI

[deathgamer]

the amount of karens, boomers and millenials in this chat actually drives me crazy

[Victor-tldk]

I remember when I was growing up my single, Polish, loving, but crazy mother had trouble with controlling how much screen time I got.

I think the key is not just "moderation." What a screen offers is any narrative, any kind of fun, etc. at just a tap away.

I think there has to be another option the child is also happy about. Maybe parent input and help in doing long term projects for example.

[sobekmania]

I think I’ll be fine, school is going to start in less than a month and my parents usually come up with a genius way to limit my screen-time during the week.