What are some negative effects of technology on kids?

If your child uses too many technology-oriented gadgets, they may not be as social with other kids, may not exercise enough and may not sleep enough. Watch pediatric nutritionist Deb Kennedy, PhD, provide tips on limiting your child’s tech usage.

Transcript

00:00

[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:06

Now, what happens when your child is doing electronics? Besides how it's stimulating the brain, and I consider it a stimulant like caffeine's a stimulant,

00:14

but it also is what are they not doing when they're doing these? They're not learning how to be social with other kids. They're not running around and getting the exercise

00:23

that they need. And they're amping themselves up to such a degree that they're really becoming sleep deficient because they can't get to bed on time because they're so jazzed up

00:31

from all the electronics that they're doing. So it's both what it does to you and what it keeps you from doing. My tip for limiting technology in a child's diet,

00:38

their electronic diet, would be that you limit it to an hour a day during the weekday

00:45

because they're also going to do some computer work. And on the weekends, you can allow about two hours. But I don't let any kid go near, especially mine, go

00:53

near an electronic device until they've paid for those minutes by exercising. So if they want to do an hour of TV, they have to show me they've already exercised.

01:01

And there's no rollover minutes. And also, before a child goes to bed, have this little basket that you collect cell phones in

01:08

and their iPods and all that type of stuff. And make sure there's no TV in their room. And an hour before they go to bed, just set the clock back.

01:16

Make sure that they're not engaging in any electronic devices. Now, children, like tweens, still

01:22

need about 10 hours of sleep. So make sure they get between 8 and 10 hours. The younger ones need more towards the 10 and the teens more towards the eight hours a day.