Upon return from school, Hannah allows him to spend extended hours in front of the television watching films, cartoon or playing video games to keep him engaged.
Even though most contents on television carry compelling caveat – with age delineation and audience fitness – none of this stresses viewing limit and all the negative consequences associated with extended television viewing.
But the near illiteracy of Hannah means she is unlikely to decipher which content is appropriate for Henry as well as the dangers of prolonged viewing.
A peep into the daily routines of both parents shows that, like most urban dwellers faced with the pressure of city life, Henry’s attraction for television viewing is a subtle escape from a deep parenting gap.
What is shocking is the long-term impact of watching too much television on a toddler. Somewhat surprisingly, the impact could be measured in the children’s dietary habits, weight and behaviour as teenagers.
The result of a study published in the journal Preventive Medicine indicated that each additional hour of TV viewing at the age of 2 predicted significantly worse eating habits at the age of 13.
Also, these children are less likely to make an effort in their first year of high school, which had an adverse effect on performance and ambition.
The researchers from the School of Psychoeducation at the Université de Montréal in Canada took data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.
In total, almost 2,000 boys and girls born in Quebec in 1997–1998 were involved in the study. The children had been followed from the age of five months.
Parents reported TV habits as they grew, then, when the children reached the age of 13, they self-reported dietary habits and behaviour at school.
The researchers hypothesised that when toddlers watch too much TV it encourages them to be sedentary, and if they learn to prefer effortless leisure activities at a very young age, they likely won’t think much of non-leisure ones, like school, when they are older.
Paradoxically, TV watching is generally a very passive activity, and passive activities do not allow for much cognitive stimulation.
The “2013 Nigerian Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth” showed that 90.9 per cent of Nigerian children and youth in the urban and rural areas spend over three hours in front of the screen daily. Television viewing is 90.7 per cent.
But: “What studies have shown is that watching TV by children does not contribute much to their cognitive development because they are just sitting down and they are not actively participating,” said Professor Yinka Omigbodun, a consultant, psychiatrist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State.
Aside from being a sedentary activity that promotes a lot of weight gain, she said a lot of parents use the TV as a babysitter, and that reduces the amount of interaction.
There is nothing like psychosocial stimulation of a child by a father or mother. Rather than talking to a child, the TV is there, so the parent is not finding out about how the child’s day has gone or even the child’s views.
“They do not even know their child because he or she is always watching TV in the house. That interaction that parents and child should have or siblings to siblings should have is missing because of the TV,” added Professor Omigbodun.
There are so many other activities that have been found to be better stimulators of children that encourage the cognitive development of children like reading, the mother or the father reads to the child, after a while the child starts to read.
Activities like sports, playing musical instruments such as piano and guitar have also been found to be much better stimulators than watching TV aside from the fact that a lot of TV programmes give wrong information.
Professor Omigbodun declared that no apps, games or television programmes can take the place of communication or relationships of a mother or father with their child.
“TV in many ways is a distraction, and it does not allow for proper growth and development of a child,” she added.
Even if children are to watch TV, Dr Olutoke Omolara Ayorinde, a consultant ophthalmologist, said parents need to cultivate that time to see what they are watching. They need to sit there and watch with them as well as listen to their comments.
What is more, Dr Ayorinde said screen time for children should also be regulated to two to three hours of TV daily so that they can use their time doing other things that is more constructive.
She added “It has been proven that too much TV time affects their development, the way children reason and attitude to life. So, it is really about what they watch more, many other things such as ensuring a child rest well, eat well and exercise is equally important. We have to balance it all.”
In October 2016, the American Academy of Paediatrics reduced the guidelines for television viewing in children aged two to five years to no more than one hour per day to ensure healthy developmental trajectories in adolescence.
As expected, there were measurable effects of increased TV time on habits as the children entered their teenage years. Since watching TV is sedentary both physically and mentally, studies suggest that connectivity may be disturbed in the rapidly developing toddler brain.
Moreover, it has the potential to set up negative habits for later life — choosing easier, less demanding activities over physically or mentally challenging pastimes, for example.
If unchecked, studies have shown, children who spend long hours in front of the television are likely to suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a psychiatric disorder common in children and adolescents.
A 1998 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) worldwide study showed that more than 51 per cent of children living in war zones and high-crime areas chose action heroes on television as role models. They perceived the near thug life of these “heroes” as the best way to survive, overcome challenges and get ahead in life.
Watching certain programmes may also encourage the irresponsible sexual behaviour. Numerous studies document adolescents’ susceptibility to the media’s influence on their sexual attitudes, values and beliefs.
Too much screen time for children is also linked to anxiety and depression. According to a study, heightened levels and diagnoses of anxiety or depression in children as young as two years are linked to too much time spent on gaming, smart phones and watching television.
The difference is noticeable even after only one hour a day of time screen time: children and teenagers may begin to have less curiosity, their self-control reduces, they become emotionally less stable and are increasingly unable to finish tasks.
Among preschoolers, high users of screens were twice as likely to often lose their temper and 46 per cent more likely to not be able to calm down when excited.
and then