HomeMy WebLinkAboutKids need more green time, less screen time, says new report - Ottawa Citizen - 11/26/2018 - Ottawa Citizen - 11/26/201811/27/2018
Kids need more green time, less screen time, says new report I Vancouver Sun
Kids need more green time, less screen
time, says new report
"The good news here is that the solution to too much screen time is right outside our front doors," said Jill Sturdy,
the author of a Nature Canada report released on Cyber Monday.
GLENDA LUYMES (HTTPS://VANCOUVERSUN.COM/AUTHOR/GLENDALUYMES) Updated: November 26, 2018
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SEARLE / PNG
A report released on Cyber Monday by Nature Canada
(http: naturecanada.ca/?gchd=EAIaIQobChMIoNWL-
p 113gIVRrjAChOxlwxrEAAYASAAEgIHe D BwE) is telling parents to
give their kids "more green time (and) less screen time
(https:/ vancouversun.com/pmn/news-pmn/limiting-screen-time-for-
your-kid-its-harder-than-it-looks/wcm/16falff3-a8ca-4095-bd66-
6609452dc83a)_."
Report author Jill Sturdy studied existing research on screen time, which showed that "when
our parents told us to go play outside, they were actually giving us great health advice."
Sturdy, who is a mother herself, looked at both the physical and mental health effects of sitting
indoors in front of a screen.
https://vancouversu n.com/news/local-news/kids-need-more-green-time-less-screen-ti m e-says-new-report?mvt=i&mvn=5c3cO7a74ed24f6O817f4a50de... 1/5
11/27/2018 Kids need more green time, less screen time, says new report I Vancouver Sun
"When I put it all together and saw the story the research was telling, I was shocked," she said.
"We all know kids are spending too much time with screens, but the impact of that is much
greater than I imagined."
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SUBMITTED PHOTO /PNG��
Those impacts include the physical effects of being sedentary and sitting for too long, as well as
mental health issues and interrupted sleep patterns (https://vancouversun.com/news/local-
news/al I-play-and-no-sleep-makes-jack-a-dull-boy/wcm/51fb093a-b8ab-41cd-8088-3c24d7b82f39)-.
https://vancouversu n.com/news/local-news/kids-need-more-green-time-less-screen-ti m e-says-new-report?mvt=i&mvn=5c3cO7a74ed24f6O817f4a50de... 2/5
11/27/2018 Kids need more green time, less screen time, says new report I Vancouver Sun
Sturdy found 55 per cent of children aged five to 17 were exceeding the guidelines for screen
time. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends no screen time for kids under two, one
hour maximum for kids between two and four. and two hours maximum for children five to 17.
READ MORE:
Testing Apple's new Screen Time parental controls: First came tears, then frustration
(https://vancouversu n.com/technology/personal-tech/testing-apples-new-screen-time- parental -
control s-first-came-tears-then-frustration/wcm/f85ed4ff-ffb4-42a6-a8bb-9a4f28e3d110)
But the author was also encouraged by the findings of studies that said spending time in nature
and being active outdoors was highly beneficial to children's physical and mental health,
helping to improve their resiliency, academic performance and social skills.
"I think intuitively we all know it's good for us;" she said. "It really only takes a few changes, a
little reset, to build more time outside into our routines. It shouldn't be life -shattering."
Sturdy encouraged parents to model behaviour to kids — "we need to put our phones down;'
she said. She also advocated making a schedule to limit when kids can and cannot have access
to screens. Parents can also create "screen -free zones" — for example, not allowing kids to have
devices at the dinner table or in their bedrooms at night.
Getting into nature can be as simple as "walking out your door;' she said. "After dinner, go for a
10 -minute walk. Every Saturday, discover a new trail."
Sturdy pointed to a B.C. program called NatureKidsBC (https://www.naturekidsbc.ca/)-, which
runs family nature clubs.
"The good news here is that the solution to too much screen time is right outside our front
doors;" she said.
gluymes@postmedia.com (mailto:gluymes@postmedia.com)
twitter.com/glendaluymes (http://twitter.com/glendaluymes).
RELATED
Limiting screen time for your kid? It's harder than it looks (https://vancouversun.com/pmn/news-
pmn/limiting- screen -ti me- for -your- kid- its- harder -than - it- looks/wcm/16falff3-a8ca-4095-bd66-
6609452dc83a)
https://vancouversu n.com/news/local-news/kids-need-more-green-time-less-screen-ti m e-says-new-report?mvt=i&mvn=5c3cO7a74ed24f6O817f4a50de... 3/5
11/27/2018 Kids need more green time, less screen time, says new report I Vancouver Sun
North Shore children at risk from too little play, too much screen time, report says
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Brian Andrejicka
A real ground breaking, and informative article here. What are they going to
publish next? .... Kids need food to keep living?
Like - Reply - 4h
Tracy IKelllly
-u This article tells me nothing. I read it in hopes to see what the effects of
m screen time are. It mentions 3 very general effects.
Like . Reply . 19h
IEiriic Willis
It ain't just the kids, folks. Consider these excerpts from Chris Hedges'
2009 book, "EMPIRE OF ILLUSION":
"A television is turned on for six hours and forty-seven minutes a day in
the average household. The average American daily watches more than four
hours of television. That amounts to twenty-eight hours a week, or two
months of uninterrupted television -watching a year."
And: "Functional illiteracy in North America is epidemic. There are
7million illiterate Americans. Another 27 million are unable to read
well... See More
Like - Reply - 14h
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