One of the biggest challenges of parenting in 2023, perhaps in the coming years too, is kids' excessive screen time using modern gadgets of all kinds including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, television screens, smartwatches, and video game consoles.
Every other household is debating on how to reduce kids' screen time.
SAMAA TV’s Faisalabad child reporter Afrah Shehzad made a TV package on this burning news.
The obsession with screens has been affecting children's mental and physical health.
Dr Usman, a child specialist highlighted that sitting in the same posture has been increasing spinal cord problems while children's vision is also affected. Sharing a tip with the parents, Dr Usman said that parents should urge their children for physical activity including physical games along with online learning.
According to a study, prolonged slouching over a mobile phone puts up to 27 kg of weight on the neck, which could also affect the spine.
It is estimated that children and adolescents spend a medium of 5 to 7 hours a day on their smartphones and handheld devices with their heads flexed forward to read and text. It has been reported that the cumulative effects of this exposure reach alarming results of excess stress on the cervical spine area, ranging from an average of 1825 to 2555 hours a year.
Therefore, it is very important for clinicians and health care providers to evaluate and properly characterize the condition in order to adopt all the procedures for the screening of subjects at increased risk as well as for timely diagnosis and treatment in childhood.
