The time spent by children in front of a screen exceeds the recommendations. The advice of Marie-Noëlle Clément, psychiatrist, to keep them away.
Par Johanna Amselem
© RICCARDO MILANI / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
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LTwo-year-olds spend an average of 56 minutes a day in front of a screen. This conclusion of the epidemiological bulletin of Public Health France points to too much screen time for toddlers. And the duration increases with the years: 1 h 10 at the age of 3 and a half and 1 h 34 at 5 and a half. This vast French study, called Elfe (French longitudinal study since childhood), was carried out with 18,000 children before the Covid-19 epidemic.
“For the little ones, the screens are very attractive. Thanks to the colorful contents and movements, they easily capture attention. Television, smartphone, today, society lives with a screen”, observes Marie-Noëlle Clément, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, director of the Cerep-Phymentin children’s day hospital in Paris and founding member of the association “3-6-9-12 “. Education is done largely by imitation, children take example from the behavior of their parents. “To limit children’s exposure to screens, the whole problem of family dynamics must be tackled. It is more broadly the habits of the whole family that must be changed. »
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Digital babysitter
Increasingly, screens are impacting family relationships and interfering in parent/child bonds. “We are talking more and more regarding parental technoference. Parents often have their mobile phone in hand while caring for their children, playing with them, etc. Some mothers even use their smartphone while breastfeeding, which prevents their baby from meeting their gaze. This moment of meeting does not happen, it is highly deleterious for the development of the toddler, ”regrets Marie-Noëlle Clément.
Some studies have shown that children whose parents stared at their phones in the park tended to put themselves in more danger and have more temper tantrums. A way to attract attention.
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“Obviously the recommendations tend towards as little screen as possible, but certain nuances are important. It is preferable to opt for interactive activities and always in the presence of an adult. The main thing is to re-establish communication, to interact all together and not to leave your child passive in front of a screen, ”recommends the psychiatrist.
No screen in the children’s room
To keep children away from screens, we must offer them other choices. Indeed, turning on the television is often the simplest response to boredom or parents being busy with other tasks. Instead of this digital babysitter, offer board games, reading time, outdoor outings, manual activities, cooking recipes to do together, etc. The idea is to make the time spent in front of the screens a little shared pleasure and not a solitary habit.
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In order to tend towards good use of screens, it is recommended to avoid them as much as possible in the evening so as not to prevent falling asleep, to turn off the television during meals to encourage this moment of exchange and not to place screens in the children’s room.
Last tip, don’t let your child watch television in the morning: “If screens don’t promote sleep, they don’t help prepare the brain for school either. The mistresses also easily manage to identify the little ones who have watched a cartoon before coming. »
