screen time Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Digital Pacifiers: How Screens are Rewiring Children’s Brains & Fueling a Mental Health Crisis

The AHA! Team — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 05:16:51 +0000

Lance D Johnson via Natural News – The research, published in Psychological Bulletin, exposes how digital devices act as “emotional escape routes,” soothing children in the moment while eroding their ability to handle real-world challenges. A Groundbreaking Study In an age where screens dominate every aspect of life, parents are unknowingly handing their children a double-edged sword — one that promises temporary calm but delivers long-term chaos. A groundbreaking study tracking nearly 300,000 children reveals a disturbing trend: screens aren’t just harming kids’ development; they’re becoming their only coping mechanism, trapping them in a vicious cycle of emotional dependency. The research, published in Psychological Bulletin, exposes how digital devices act as “emotional escape routes,” soothing children in the moment while eroding their ability to handle real-world challenges. This isn’t just about limiting screen time — it’s about recognizing how Big Tech’s relentless invasion into childhood is creating a generation less capable of resilience, communication, and emotional stability. Key points: Screens create a self-perpetuating cycle: Kids with emotional struggles turn to devices for comfort, but excessive screen time worsens those struggles over time. Gaming poses the highest risk, with stronger negative effects than passive screen use like TV or educational content — especially for children aged 6-10. Older children are more vulnerable than toddlers because they actively seek screens to self-soothe, displacing critical social and emotional development. The solution isn’t total elimination but breaking the habit of using screens as a first response to distress, replacing them with real-world coping strategies. The gaming trap: Why interactive screens hit hardest While many parents carefully monitor YouTube or social media, gaming often slips under the radar as “harmless fun.” The study found that children who played video games were far more likely to develop behavioral issues, and those already struggling turned to gaming more aggressively than other screen activities. Unlike passive viewing, gaming demands constant engagement, rewiring neural pathways to prioritize instant gratification over patience and problem-solving. “Screen use may increase the risk of children developing socioemotional problems, and children with socioemotional problems may be drawn to screens, possibly as a way to manage their distress,” the researchers noted. Historical context amplifies these findings: Where past generations relied on outdoor play or face-to-face interaction, today’s children are handed tablets at the first sign of frustration. The result? A measurable decline in gross motor skills, communication, and emotional regulation — all sacrificed at the altar of digital pacification. Older kids at greater risk: Autonomy becomes a liability Common wisdom suggests toddlers are most vulnerable to screen overuse, but the data tells a darker story. Children aged 6-10, with greater independence, are more likely to use devices as emotional crutches. A 7-year-old can seek out games when anxious; a 3-year-old can’t. This autonomy fuels what researchers call the “displacement effect” — every hour spent gaming is an hour lost to physical activity, family conversation, or learning to process emotions healthily. Gender differences also emerged: Girls reacted more negatively to general screen use, while boys in the older group faced higher risks from gaming. The implications are clear: Unchecked screen time doesn’t just distract children — it stunts their emotional growth during critical developmental windows. The study’s most crucial takeaway isn’t that screens are inherently evil, but that their misuse as emotional Band-Aids has dire consequences. Educational content co-viewed with parents showed minimal harm, proving context matters. The real danger lies in letting screens replace human connection. Parents must ask: Is this device calming my child, or just delaying a meltdown? Solutions include: Modeling healthy behavior: Children mimic parents’ screen habits. Put phones away during meals and conversations. Teaching coping skills: Encourage journaling, outdoor play, or talking through emotions instead of defaulting to screens. Setting intentional limits: Prioritize screen-free zones (bedrooms, cars) to force real-world interaction. The study’s authors stress that small, consistent changes — not draconian bans — can disrupt this cycle. The choice is clear: Let screens raise a generation of emotionally fragile dependents, or fight for their right to develop resilience beyond the glow of a tablet. Sources include: StudyFinds.org APA.org [PDF] Enoch, Brighteon.ai To read the original article, click here

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Greater Screen Time Usage Among Preteens Associated with Higher BMI One Year Later

AHA Publisher — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 07:00:50 +0000

University of Toronto via News-Medical – A new national study finds that children in the United States with greater screen time usage at ages 9-10 are more likely to gain weight one year later. The study, publishing in Pediatric Obesity on June 28, found that each additional hour spent on virtually all forms of screen time was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) one year later. In particular, researchers found that each extra hour spent watching or streaming television, YouTube videos, video games, video chat, and texting led to a higher risk of weight gain one year later. At the start of the study, 33.7% of children were considered overweight or obese, and this increased to 35.5% one year later, a proportion that is expected to rise in the late teens and early adulthood. BMI is calculated based on height and weight. Researchers analyzed the BMI z-scores, which is relative weight adjusted for a child’s age and sex, of 11,066 preteens who are part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term study of brain development in the United States. The children answered questions about their time spent on six different screen time modalities, including television, social media, and texting. “Screen time is often sedentary and may replace time for physical activity. Children are exposed to more food advertisements and are prone to snacking and overeating while distracted in front of screens.” (Jason Nagata, MD, lead author, assistant professor of pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco) “A negative body image and subsequent overeating may be a result of exposure to social media and unattainable body ideals,” said senior author, Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. “This study emphasizes the need for more research on how screen time impacts the well-being of young people now and in the future.” “The study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its findings are especially relevant for the pandemic,” noted Nagata. “With remote learning, the cancellation of youth sports and social isolation, children have been exposed to unprecedented levels of screen time.” “Screen time can have important benefits such as education and socialization during the pandemic, but parents should try to mitigate risks from excessive screen time including increased sedentary time and decreased physical activity. Parents should regularly talk to their children about screen-time usage and develop a family media use plan,” said Nagata. To read the original article click here.

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During COVID-19 Pandemic, Increased Screen Time Correlates with Mental Distress

AHA Publisher — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 07:00:04 +0000

American Society for Microbiology via EurekAlert – Washington, D.C. – June 20, 2021 – Increased screen time among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic correlated with a rise in pandemic-related distress, according to research led by investigators at the Saint James School of Medicine on the Caribbean island nation, Saint Vincent. The increase in time spent viewing entertainment on a screen both prior to and during the pandemic was associated with a boost in anxiety scores. Students scored higher than non-students in pandemic-related distress. Surprisingly, the results showed no association of depression with screen time use, despite such associations having been found in previous research. The research will be presented at World Microbe Forum, taking place online June 20-24. “This study highlights that the pandemic did not simply affect people physically, but emotionally and mentally, with various groups being impacted to a greater extent than others,” said Michelle Wiciak, the presenting author on the research, M.D. candidate at Saint James School of Medicine. “It reiterates that there is an increased need for mental health support during disastrous times.” Nearly half of participants exhibited mild to moderate depression, with more than 70% ranging from mild to severe depression. Seventy percent of participants experienced mild to severe anxiety, and slightly more than 30% could potentially meet DSM-IV-TR criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two hundred ninety-four responses were collected and validated based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria used in the surveys. Participants ranged from 18 to 28 years old. Screen time use was not different between genders. Still, there were gender differences in average scores in depression, anxiety and distress from COVID-19. “The study is unique in having evaluated mental health status as a function of screen time,” said Wiciak. The authors also collected data from multiple countries. “Since the pandemic shifted work and education to online, we wanted to gain more insight into that transition’s impact. We did find unexpected results, potentially paving the way for future research and various protective factors, which can be vital in keeping a person healthy during tumultuous times,” added Wiciak. To read the original article click here.

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Exposure to Nature Promotes Psychological Well-Being in Children and Offsets Excessive Computer Use

AHA Publisher — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 07:00:58 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – Virtually every Baby Boomer can probably recall this recurring parental suggestion: “Why don’t you kids go outside and play?!” Scientific research now agrees on the wisdom of this advice, with recent studies supporting the benefits of “green time” in lowering blood pressure, lifting mood and reducing levels of stress hormones in children and adults alike. Over the past two decades, however, the use of screen-based technology has soared, with restorative “green time” often sacrificed to “screen time” – a particularly troublesome scenario for children and teens. For the first time, a new systematic review explores the benefits of green time – and the effects of screen time – in children and teenagers. Review: American Preteens May Spend Only a Handful of Hours a Week Enjoying the Benefits of Green Time – with Troubling Consequences Shockingly, one study revealed that 12-year-old children in the United States report spending less than six hours a week outside – less than they report spending on screen time in a single day! Keep in mind, according to psychologist and screen technology expert Dr. Mike Brooks, PhD, many teens spend as much as nine hours (not including school or homework!) on screen-based media, while children may spend eight to 12. In addition, roughly 25 percent of all adolescents describe themselves as “constantly connected” to the Internet. Many researchers believe that excessive screen time is detrimental to young people, as it stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and dopaminergic circuits at a time when those sensitive systems are developing and changing. On a practical note, excessive screen time can interfere with mental health necessities such as adequate sleep, in-person social activities, academic activities and regular exercise. Warning: High Screen Time with Low Green Time is Associated with Poorer Psychological and Cognitive Health In a systematic review published September 4 in PLOS One, the authors evaluated 186 studies to assess the effects of green time and screen time on mental health, cognitive function and academic achievement in children and teens in the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. The researchers evaluated studies that explored the use of visual screen-based technologies such as TV, video games, smart phones, surfing the internet, social media and texting – as well as investigating exposure to green spaces and outdoor activities. In young people of all age groups, higher screen time was found to be associated with detrimental effects (although positive consequences from moderate exposures were found). The authors reported that in schoolchildren 5 to 11 years old, screen time exposures were generally associated with unfavorable psychological outcomes such as depressive symptoms, behavioral problems, sleeplessness and poorer cognitive function and attention. In a study published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the researchers found that higher screen time was associated with reduced happiness and poorer academic outcomes. And, in older teens, high levels of screen time were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety. Green time, on the other hand, was associated with favorable outcomes such as reduced anger, healthier cortisol profiles, more energy and increased happiness. In addition, green time decreased long-term anxiety – and one study found that learning in a forest setting was associated with a steeper daily decrease in cortisol levels, when compared to traditional indoor classes. The authors pointed out that natural areas and green spaces tend to have better air quality and less noise pollution when compared to congested, high-traffic areas. And, direct sunlight promotes restful sleep by regulating circadian rhythms and spurring the production of vitamin D – a potent anti-inflammatory, immune system booster and natural antidepressant. Important Caveat: Researchers Credit “Moderate Screen Time” with Many Benefits The fact is: an estimated 47 percent of U.S. employment is classified as being at high risk of computerization in coming years. Stressing the need for young people to be “tech-literate,” the authors were careful to point out the upside of computer use. They noted that “moderate” screen time can aid academic achievement while allowing young people to forge new connections, enhance existing relationships and access the world beyond their immediate surroundings. And, some studies found that computer gaming was associated with increased reading and problem-solving scores. But, How Much Screen Time Is too Much? When it comes to recommending guidelines, Dr. Brooks points out that this is a highly individual matter, dependent on context, type of media, quality of content and the age of the child or teen. As a general rule, Dr. Brooks notes that one to two hours of recreational screen time on a school day is reasonable for teens, with three to four permissible on weekends and holidays. He adds that devices should be kept out of bedrooms when it’s time to sleep – and away from family meals. Boost Mental and Psychological Health with Nature-Centered Activities When it comes to getting quality green time, the options for both adults and young people are almost unlimited. Wilderness hiking, rock climbing, strolling in parks, swimming in oceans and lakes, jogging on outdoor paths, climbing trees or simply playing tag in a field – all qualify as green time. And, practices like “forest bathing” and “earthing” – in which contact with nature is used to lower blood pressure and reverse harmful electrical charges in the body – are steadily growing in popularity as well. Of course, common sense, safety guidelines and age-appropriate supervision must be observed – whatever the activity. Today’s technology offers a rich source of information, opportunity and inspiration for young people – but it also presents hazards. This new review shows that green time can act as a buffer for the toxic effects of too much screen time, while promoting physical and psychological health. So, unplug and log off for a while – and encourage your family to do the same. The rewards are tremendous! Sources for this article include: ScienceDaily.com, PsychologyToday.com To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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From Scaffolding to Screen Time: Understanding a Child’s Developing Brain for Reading

AHA Publisher — Tue, 05 May 2020 07:00:19 +0000

Cognitive Neuroscience Society via EurekAlert – In the debate about nature versus nurture for developing reading skills, cognitive neuroscientists have a clear message: both matter. From infancy, children have a neural scaffolding in place upon which environmental factors refine and build reading skills. In new work being presented today at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) virtual meeting, scientists are reporting on these biological and environmental factors — including early screen time — as they uncover biomarkers that can identify children at risk for dyslexia and other reading acquisition disorders. Recycling Neural Circuits “Reading is a relatively new human invention. To read, our brains have to ‘recycle’ neural circuits originally used for other abilities such as visual and language processing, as well as attention and cognitive abilities,” says Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus of The Technion in Israel and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who is chairing the CNS symposium about the new work. “The fact that 5-10% of children worldwide, across cultures and genetic backgrounds, suffer from dyslexia suggests that this disability is not limited to a specific language.” Indeed, the research being presented by Horowitz-Kraus and others suggests a variety of biological precursors are present in children prior to school age across languages, and several environmental factors can help or hinder reading acquisition. The goal is to identify children at risk early, to provide the best possible interventions that will improve literacy. The Reading Brain in Infancy One of the biggest insights to come in recent years in the study of reading acquisition is that most interventions to identify and treat dyslexia in school were coming too late. Over the past decade, longitudinal studies of young children coming out of the lab of Nadine Gaab at Harvard Medical School and others at labs globally have shown that the brains of children who will develop dyslexia are already atypical even before they start into kindergarten. “We knew that the brain of someone with dyslexia was different from a control, but we didn’t know if it was something that developed before the onset of formal reading instruction or if it developed in response to a daily failure to learn to read over a significant period of time,” she says. “Our work was the first time MRI imaging could show that some of the brain characteristics predate the onset of reading development,” Gaab says. Underlying Infrastructure And in new work being presented at the CNS meeting and available via preprint, Gaab’s team has shown that, as a group, babies as young as 3 months old have an underlying infrastructure that helps predict success in reading years later. As part of the BOLD (Boston Longitudinal Dyslexia) study, Gaab’s team has scanned the brains of 140 infants who have a familial risk for dyslexia and then followed them over time to study changes in the structure and function of their brains. For the newest data, 45 of the once-infant subjects have now turned 5 or 6 years old, allowing the researchers to map their brain scans from infancy to their pre-reading skills. “What our infant data suggest is that there is a structural brain scaffold in infancy that serves as a foundation,”Gaaab explains. “Language and reading may be a process that refines this pre-existing brain scaffold.” Studying the brains of young children in an MRI machine is far from simple, Gaab explains. When they are babies, the goal is to have the participants sleep in the scanner. So her lab looks like an elaborate daycare center — with adaptable rocking chairs, swings, cribs, and other gear optimized for use with the scanner. While safely sleeping in the MRI, the babies hear stories read to them, allowing the researchers to capture both structural information about their brains but also, surprisingly, functional data. “We were very surprised to see robust language networks activated while the infants sleep,” Gaab says. Testing Pre-Reading Skills As 5- and 6-year-olds returning to the lab, the children identify word sounds in games designed to test their pre-reading skills. As they get older, the children will do increasingly more advanced tasks, such as reading in the scanner. This longitudinal work gives the researchers a big-picture view of reading development rather than just a snapshot view. Gaab’s lab is next working to understand the co-occurrence of disorders such as ADHD and dyscalculia (a math learning disorder) with dyslexia. They also want to understand techniques children successfully use to compensate for dyslexia in the brain. “We now see children are not a clean slate for reading experience,” Gaab says, and they want to not only better understand the determining factors but also inform policy-makers and the public. The Reading Brain On Screen While studying neurobiochemistry for her master’s program, Horowitz-Kraus worked on SAT preparation with her younger brother who was struggling with reading despite his high intelligence in nonverbal tasks. “Observing my brother’s frustration in executing a task that is very intuitive for individuals without dyslexia made me set the goal to seek neurobiological correlates for reading difficulties and to find ways to improve reading ability,” she says. “This way, I thought, the difficulty can be diagnosed objectively, maybe even before reading is formally acquired, and can prove without a doubt that the difficulty is real.” Fifteen years later, Horowitz-Kraus has done just that and, in new research, is seeking to understand how day-to-day conditions affect the neurobiological foundation for reading in the brain. “Although dyslexia is a genetic disorder, the environment has an impact wherein it can reduce or increase reading challenges,” she says. “The brain is extremely plastic at the pre-reading age, and hence negative stimuli, such as exposure to screens, may have an amplifying effect on a child’s outcomes.” Home Literacy Environment In a series of studies, Horowitz-Kraus and colleagues examined how the home literacy environment, including screen exposure, affects the brain circuits of children 3- to 5-years old, in particular executive functions, language and visual processing. As published recently in JAMA Pediatrics, screen-based media use beyond American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines was associated with “lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and emergent literacy skills in prekindergarten children.” Earlier work using EEG had found reduced narrative comprehension in preschool children using screens compared to in-person reading. They also have found that screen exposure engages different brain networks in children with dyslexia compared to typical readers. The results suggest, Horowitz-Kraus says, that listening to stories through screens is not similar to joint reading when seeking to nurture the developing brain. “There is no replacement for joint storytelling in engaging neuronal circuits related to future reading,” she says. What Infrastructure Is Needed? Such studies enabled by modern neuroimaging data are allowing researchers for the first time to determine what infrastructure is needed to be able to read and to track the typical and atypical development of this infrastructure — and to develop appropriate early interventions. Both Horowitz-Karus and Gaab envision moving to a more preventative model for reading disorders. “This preventive model is something we embrace a lot in medicine but for some reason, we have not yet done so in education,” Gaab says. She cites cholesterol screening to help identify those at risk for heart disease as a model that could work for dyslexia and other learning disorders. Already their research and others’ have led to new educational policies, including early dyslexia screening in 29 states to identify children at risk in kindergarten. “We and other cognitive neuroscientists hope to continue to contribute to that shift in this model,” Gaab says. To read the original article click here.

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Screen Time Impairs Children’s Language Skills

AHA Publisher — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 07:00:51 +0000

Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD via News-Medical Net – A new study looks at the time spent by kids looking at a screen and the development of their language skills. The team writes that there have been several studies that have found an adverse relationship between the two and this study is a collation of the data that exists from these studies. The study titled, “Associations Between Screen Use and Child Language Skills A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” was published in the latest issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics. What Is the Study About? The team of researchers from the University of Calgary, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle collaborated to look at the studies that have researched the association of screen use among kids and their language development. They wrote that there had been a debate on the amount of time kids spend before the screen and their development. Over the last decade, they wrote, more and more children have access to digital media, and their consumption of the same is also on the rise. Many studies report that screen time is usually measured in terms of quantity and quality. Quantity of Screen Time Quantity of screen use includes hours per day or week. This quantity of time spent before the screen could be sedentary behavior or passive watching. They explain that this would hamper the critical learning opportunities that are needed for the growth and development of the children. One of these includes language development. When the child is exposed to the screens, they are not exposed to verbal exchanges that can help promote language skills and communication development. Quality of Screen Time Quality of time spent before the screen includes co-viewing or context of the viewing and content quality such as education content viewing etc. Some of the quality of content viewing, including educational content, can help augment the development of language skills in children. The authors wrote that several marketing claims from the makers of these content claim that these could help enhance the intellectual capacities of the child. There is no concrete evidence regarding this benefit, they wrote. What Was Studied? This study looked at three components of kids’ screen viewing; Quantity of use or hours of screen time and background television Quality of use or educational and co-viewing Age at the onset of screen exposure What Do Experts Recommend? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations states that there should be no screen exposure before the age of 18 months, and children between ages 2 and 5 years should view not more than 1 hour of high-quality programming per day. They also suggest that co-viewing is recommended for these children. Children aged over six years should have limited quantity and quality of screen exposure. What Was Done in the Study? This study looked at other studies that assessed an association between quantity and quality of screen exposure and the development of language skills in children. For this study, they found 42 suitable studies between 1960 and March 2019. In all the studies, the children included were less than 12 years of age. Preverbal language assessment, receptive, or expressive language, was looked at. For each of the studies they looked at participants age, sex, study publication year, quantity or quality measures of the study and the study design What Was Found? A total of 18 905 participants were included in the 42 studies. The average age at which screen use was measured was 35.7 months, and the average age at which language skills were measured was 44.4months. Children who had more extended hours of screen time had lower language skills. There were 50.2 percent male children among the participants. Children with more extended background television also had weaker language skills. Better quality of screen use, including watching educational programs and co-viewing, was associated with more persuasive language skills. If the kids began watching screens later, they had more persuasive language skills, the study noted. Conclusion, and Implications The researchers wrote in recommendations, “The findings of this meta-analysis support pediatric recommendations to limit children’s duration of screen exposure, to select high-quality programming, and to co-view when possible.” They added, “greater quantity of screen use (ie, hours per day/week) was negatively associated with child language, while better quality of screen use (ie, educational programs and co-viewing with caregivers) were positively associated with child language skills.” The team recommends that despite the benefits offered by educational content viewing and co-viewing, they need to be in moderation. The team says, “It will be important in future research to identify which components of screen time viewing aremost beneficial vs detrimental for child language (eg, interactive apps, computer use, or video streaming) and to examine the potential role of co-viewing, media multitasking, and household media rules on children’s outcomes.” To read the original article click here.

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Screen Time No Child’s Play

AHA Publisher — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 08:00:07 +0000

University of Queensland via EurekAlert – Experts are urging parents to brush up on national guidelines following a rapid rise in screen time on electronic devices for children under 2. A University of Queensland study found some young children might average 50 minutes per day, where the national guidelines called for zero screen time in children under the age of two. UQ School of Public Health lead author Associate Professor Leigh Tooth said the guidelines were there to give children the best start in life. “We were surprised to see the rapid increase in screen time from the first month of infancy,” Dr Tooth said. “Children are spending almost an hour per day in front of a screen before they turn one.” Dr Tooth’s study showed screen time quickly increased with age before plateauing around three years, at an average of 94 minutes per weekday. Screen time only fell into line with national guidelines when children moved into childcare and school, while weekends continued to spike well above the guidelines. The Australian government, World Health Organization and other international bodies promote the same guidelines of zero screen time under two years. “We need to let people know that young children should not be in front of a screen for long periods because there is emerging evidence this could be detrimental to their development and growth,” she said. “Screen time represents a missed opportunity where children could be practising and mastering a developmental skill, like skipping and jumping, over being sedentary and transfixed to a screen. “This is particularly important in children under two who should not be spending any time in front of a screen.” The study showed mothers whose children exceeded the screen time guidelines experienced factors like financial stress, had high amounts of leisure time or allowed electronic devices in the bedroom. “It’s very easy to use screen time with children because there are so many child-friendly apps and games developed for young children and parents,” Dr Tooth said. “If you give a child an iPad for 30 minutes then they’re going to be transfixed – you can understand why parents give their children access to screens.” Dr Tooth said the potential negative implications far outweighed any perceived benefits of the easy distraction tools. “The fear is that it is these early years where the most negative impact on health and development can occur,” she said. “Parents need to be made aware of the national guidelines in their antenatal visits or during a follow-up appointment with their GP. “The guidelines are there for a reason, and that is to protect your baby’s health and development.” To read the original article click here.

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Screen-Based Media Associated with Structural Differences in Brains of Young Children

AHA Publisher — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 08:00:59 +0000

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center via Science Daily – A new study documents structural differences in the brains of preschool-age children related to screen-based media use. To read the original article and learn more about how media can impact the brain, click here.

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