It’s old news that children who have a television set in their rooms get less sleep than ones who don’t. But a big, multi-center study on fourth- and seventh-graders in the journal Pediatrics reveals that smaller screens have an even worse impact on rest. Whereas tykes with their own TV sets get an average of 18 fewer minutes of shuteye per night than other kids, children who sleep alongside handheld electronic devices like tablets and smartphones reported sleeping about 21 fewer minutes per night. They also report just feeling more tired, too.
If 21 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, consider that most kids are already short on sleep. School-aged children need 10-11 hours; teens require around 9. And yet, studies have shown that only 15 percent of older kids get more than 8.5 hours per night. Some 60% get six or fewer hours. This can have wide ranging impacts: Kids with sleep deficits are more prone to obesity, attention disorders, depression, accidents, and even—this might be worth mentioning to your ‘tween if nothing else seems to resonate—acne.
Lots of parents set up a basket or bowl in which kids have to toss their devices during homework or dinnertime. These rules are meant to foster academic focus and familial relationships. But shouldn’t health be an equal if not greater impetus for a phone handover rule an hour or so before bedtime, too?
I know this is easy for me to say, having children who aren’t yet smartphone owners and therefore have few entertainment options keeping them awake at bedtime. (Nate the Great is a good read, but obviously not as compelling as an instant message from a crush from chemistry will one day surely be.) And yet, parting a kid from what we all know to be a near universally addictive object just makes sense. I know I struggle to tear myself away from my iPhone at bedtime (having my Kindle books and alarm clock on there doesn’t help). I can only imagine what it would be like to be a middle schooler and have unfettered and instant access to friends, boyfriends, gossip, and news. Just 21 minutes? I don’t know if my socially motivated, insecure ‘tween self would have had the self-control to stop there.
Which is why experts say it’s important to not blame or shame kids (i.e., you just can’t control yourself on that thing!) if you institute a rule of no phones and tablets in their rooms in the late evening and overnight. Explain that you’re not punishing them, but looking out for them. ‘Fess up about your own electronic dependencies, too, and walk the walk by leaving your phone charging in the kitchen or living room overnight. Will they balk? Naturally. But they’ll be healthier for it.
Have you found any successful strategies for establishing evening technology limits in your family? Share here, and get some more ideas from this printable family contract for smartphone use at Connect Safely.
Photo credit: John Karakatsanis via Photo Pin, cc
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