According to an article from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), children between 8 and 12 years old now spend around four to six hours watching TV or using their smartphones, gaming consoles or computers, while older teenagers spend as much as nine hours on these gadgets per day.1

While it seems like a harmless form of entertainment, excessive screen time actually affects many areas of children's health — in particular, it can lead to poor sleep quality and trigger behavior problems.

Study Links Screen Time with Poor Sleep Quality and Behavioral Problems Among School-Aged Children

A recent study published in the Early Child Development and Care journal2 investigated the effects of screen time on schoolchildren's sleep quality and how it affects and changes their behavior.

The researchers, who were from China and Canada, surveyed mothers of preschool-aged children in Shanghai, with 571 valid respondents being used for the study. The children were between 3 and 6 years old and attended seven different public preschools.

"Specifically, at ages of 2.5 and 4, approximately 55.5% and 34.5% of children, respectively, did not adhere to the screen time recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The COVID-19 pandemic has further escalated screen time, doubling children's daily usage for online activities. Consequently, investigating preschool children's screen time necessitates immediate attention," the researchers said.3