Health News
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
Pediatricians have made a strong statement (and a very positive one in my view) about screen time and young children. The new policy just released from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 limit the time spent in front of the TV, computers, and even adult shows playing in the background. Included in this grouping are self-described ?educational games.?
The bottom line of this policy is that video screen time provides no educational benefits for children under age 2, and actually interferes with playtime and person-to-person interactions with other children and adults.
Other studies show that language development in young children can be impaired by too much screen time. Children learn language best from ?real people,? resulting in greater understanding and usage later on.
But this is not the ?video police? interfering in your personal life. The key word here is ?limit? screen time from all sources. As with all modern lifestyle behaviors, moderation is key.
And we adults can learn something from this recommendation! Maybe we should all try to ?turn off? a bit, and focus more on ?real people? time.
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Health professionals and other employees at Kosair Children's Hospital and the University of Louisville pediatrics unit were given an unusual tool this week when it was announced that their facilities are now No-Hit Zones. A program developed to maintain...
- Video Systems Like Wii Fit Not Working Against Child Obesity: Study
Video games designed to encourage children to exercise don't do anything to prevent obesity, a study has concluded. It found that children either find a way to trick the games "into thinking they are moving around, or they make up for exercise by...
- Study: Children Are Obese Because Of Bad Habits, Not Heredity
Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center have found poor health habits, not heredity, are making children fat. Check-ups of 1,003 Michigan sixth-graders showed children who were obese were "more likely to consume school lunch instead...
- Five Ways To Fight Childhood Obesity
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Health News
No TV For Tots
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
The bottom line of this policy is that video screen time provides no educational benefits for children under age 2, and actually interferes with playtime and person-to-person interactions with other children and adults.
Other studies show that language development in young children can be impaired by too much screen time. Children learn language best from ?real people,? resulting in greater understanding and usage later on.
But this is not the ?video police? interfering in your personal life. The key word here is ?limit? screen time from all sources. As with all modern lifestyle behaviors, moderation is key.
And we adults can learn something from this recommendation! Maybe we should all try to ?turn off? a bit, and focus more on ?real people? time.
- Many Ky. Parents Don't Realize Children Are Overweight, Or Won't Acknowledge It, But Many Report Kids' Poor Health Behavior
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Many Kentucky parents don't realize that their children are obese or overweight, or at least aren't willing to acknowledge it. That is the obvious conclusion to draw from the latest results of the Kentucky Parent...
- No-hit Zones In Place In Pediatric Wards Of Kosair And U Of L Children's Hospitals
Health professionals and other employees at Kosair Children's Hospital and the University of Louisville pediatrics unit were given an unusual tool this week when it was announced that their facilities are now No-Hit Zones. A program developed to maintain...
- Video Systems Like Wii Fit Not Working Against Child Obesity: Study
Video games designed to encourage children to exercise don't do anything to prevent obesity, a study has concluded. It found that children either find a way to trick the games "into thinking they are moving around, or they make up for exercise by...
- Study: Children Are Obese Because Of Bad Habits, Not Heredity
Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center have found poor health habits, not heredity, are making children fat. Check-ups of 1,003 Michigan sixth-graders showed children who were obese were "more likely to consume school lunch instead...
- Five Ways To Fight Childhood Obesity
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Last week?s Weight of the Nation meeting in Washington, DC, put a lot of emphasis on fighting childhood obesity ? what I like to call ?family obesity.? You may not know that UPMC program, the Pittsburgh Healthy Kids Project,...