Mercy Health – Children’s Hospital and Kohl’s Kids in Action encourages all families to unplug from digital entertainment and spend their free time playing, reading, creating, and connecting with others. And there’s no better time than during this year’s National Screen-Free Week.
National Screen-Free Week runs through Sunday, May 7 giving us an opportunity to shut down those screens.
Studies show that children are spending more time in front of computers, phones, and TVs and less time getting the 60 minutes of daily exercise they need to stay fit and healthy.
In fact, excessive screen time is linked to poor school performance; behavioral and attention problems; disruptive sleep patterns; and childhood obesity.
“For the week of May 1-7, take the challenge. Turn off your screens and enjoy your family time. You’ll be surprised at all the fun you can have by forgoing screen-time,” said Meliss Klorer, MRC, health educator for Mercy Health – Kohl’s Kids in Action.
Doctors recommend that children ages 2 and older should have no more than 2 hours per day of screen time for reasons other than schoolwork. No screen time is recommended for children under the age of 2.
Mercy Health - Kohl’s Kids in Action have a few tips to help you stay screen free this week:
- Turn off the TV during meals and use that time to discuss the events of the day.
- Keep TVs, DVD players, video games and computers out of children’s bedrooms
- Channel surfing is a sure sign of boredom. Give them something else to do
- Ride a bike, read a book, cook dinner together or learn a craft
- Visit a nearby Metropark or go to the library.
It’s time to turn off the TV and get active!