Child Health Crisis – Technology overuse deals the deathblow to Canadian children
Escalating incidence of poor child physical 1,2 and mental health 3 in Canada has now reached epidemic proportions. One in three children enter school developmentally vulnerable 4, one in four are obese or overweight 5,6, one in five have a diagnosed mental illness 7, and one in ten are addicted to technology 8. 3 out of […]
Literacy by Grade 3 – Common sense screen management in schools.
In an average month, I receive 10-15 emails from teachers who express grave concerns regarding unrestricted use of technology in schools (see below email from a teacher in Maryland). These emails not only report problematic issues with personal device use such as cell phones, but also overuse of entertainment media including cartoons and movies, as […]
New Tools That Help Families Manage Time
Guest Blog by Jenifer Joy Madden. If digital gadgets and games are being designed to attract and hold kids’ attention, American pediatricians are pushing back with their own design. “The goal is to give parents, and everybody really, a visual of how a child’s day maps out and we can really understand what affects the balance […]
Online or Outside? Redefining child safety and risk.
During an assessment, a grade one child stated she “sneaks” her tablet to bed at night to talk with her “new friends”. When asked who these friends were, she responded “I’m not sure, but they say nice things to me and ask me lots of questions”. A kindergartener who could speak of nothing other […]
Screen Overuse: Why families do it, and how they can stop.
It was about 20 years ago when I started identifying children who overused screens. I was working in schools as a pediatric occupational therapist at the inception of the adhd craze, and was curious enough to ask my adhd students “do you game”? It made sense to me that a body designed to […]