Cris Rowan, an amazing pediatric occupational therapist from British Columbia, is back from last week to share some of her expertise on the impact that technology has on a child’s physical, mental, social, and academic health. Please listen to last week’s episode to learn more about Cris, or check out last week’s blog!

She shared some astounding facts with us, including:

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics states that children 0-2 years of age should have zero TV time, but they get 2.5 hours on average per day.
  • France banned baby TV due to negative effects.
  • Baby Einstein videos are linked to children having delayed speech.
  • Children should have 1-2 hours per day of total technology use (TV, video games, computer time, etc.). She doesn’t advocate for completely unplugging a child from technology because our future is so dependent on it.

The Impact on a Child Physically:

  • 15% of Canadian children are obese. This rate doubles if a TV is in a child’s bedroom.
  • 15% of Canadian children are diagnosed with Developmental Delay, which hugely impacts their ability to print and read.
  • Stress – a chronic & high adrenalin state is detrimental to our immune, endocrine and cardiovascular systems. 20 hours of technology use per day has resulted in blood pooling, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks. Our bodies respond to technology (i.e.- video games) as being real, causing the body to feel the stress of this type of stimulation.
  • Sleep disorders are on the rise and children are having difficulty getting to sleep and staying asleep.

The Mental Effects of Technology Use:

  • 14.3% of Canadian children have a diagnosed mental illness, such as anxiety or depression.
  • Anxiety is the fasting growing disorder in Canada and the US.
  • 9% of Canadian children are diagnosed with ADHD. Every one hour per day of technology use prior to the age of seven, increases that child’s risk of attention problems by 10% upon school entry.
  • Behavioral problems are being diagnosed at high rates and medication is becoming more of a common treatment. Cris started an initiative called “Unplug-Don’t Drug” in Canada to work on reversing this trend.

The Social Effects of Technology Use:

  • Social isolation, suicide, rage and violence are becoming more pronounced with the increase in overall technology use. Brandon Crisp from Ontario and Daniel Petric from Ohio were talked about as examples.
  • Media violence is classified as a public health risk in the US now due to resulting child aggression.

The Effects of Technology on Academic Success:

  • 15% of Canadian children are classified as having learning disabilities (LD).
  • Illiteracy is on the rise as well as children with developmental delays who often have printing and reading deficits.
  • The increase in technology use correlates with lower grades, higher drop out rates in high school, and lower university pursuits.

Cris really emphasized the need for parents to have “sacred time” in the home where they are completely unplugged from technology and fully engaged in spending time with their children. She recommends these sacred times to be at least: during dinner time, during car rides and 1-hour before bedtime. Next week she has agreed to come back for a third and final time (for now at least) to help us find ways to balance our children’s use of technology with activities they need in order to grow and succeed in today’s world.

Thank you so much Cris for sharing this information with us today. For the listeners, if you haven’t listened to the previous episode or looked at the blog, I encourage you to do so. If you would like to contact Cris or sign up for her monthly newsletter, you can find her at:
www.zonein.ca

info@zonein.ca

1-888-8zonein (888-896-6346)
604-885-2666

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