Wholesome entertainment or negative influence? Good relaxation or harmful inactivity? Family bonding or individual isolation? Do we let our children watch what they want for as long as they want, or should we censor the content and limit the quantity?

Most parents feel they should put in some boundaries, but knowing where can be difficult.

Allowing children to watch limitless TV keeps them quiet for hours. Stopping them usually leads to noise and complaints. So how much is too much? And what should we stop them watching altogether?

Dr. Aric Sigman, a psychologist, says children spending hours slumped in front of a small screen is ‘the greatest unacknowledged health threat of our time’. He recommends the following limits:

• Children under 3 yrs old: no screen exposure [clearly difficult if there are older siblings]
• 3 to 7 yr olds: 30 to 60 minutes
• 7 to 12 yr old: 60 minutes
• 12 to 15yr old: 90 minutes
• 16+ yr: 2 hrs

These figures should be taken as guidelines for the ideal limit and we must remember the context. The average child today watches between three and five times that amount, while adolescents watch an average of seven and a half hours a day.

Health risks for children if too much time is spent in front of a screen:

• Obesity – the result of too little exercise.
• Sleep disorders – over-stimulating the senses causes sleeplessness.
• Poor concentration – the development of brain cells governing attention span is impaired.
• Difficulty in reading – a result of poor intellectual stimulation while young.
• Short-sightedness – staring at a screen can cause eye damage.
• Behavioral problems and autism – these can be linked to a lack of social interaction.
• Increased cholesterol – the result of an inactive childhood.
• Lowered immune system – through suppression of production of the key hormone melatonin.

Limiting TV, tab, and video games to a set amount of time each day for each family member, depending on their age, benefits not each child, but family life. Children will be helped most if the parents also control how much they watch.

This will lead to healthy discussion and decision making, and perhaps even to conversation and alternative family entertainment.

We hope that these devotions are being read and thus helpful to you in your journey of parenting to raise Kingdom kids.