Screen time ‘may harm toddlers’

Besedišče – prevedi besede v oklepaju v angleščino. Prva črka je dana. / Translate the words in brackets into English. The first letter has been given.

Letting a toddler spend lots of time using screens may delay their development of skills such as language and sociability, according to a large Canadian study.

The research, which tracked nearly 2,500 two-year-olds, is the latest piece of evidence in the debate about how much screen time is safe for kids. In Canada and the US, e_______________ (1 strokovnjaki) say children should not use screens before they are at least 18 months old. But UK guidelines set no such limit.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says there is not enough _______________ (2 dokazi), even when you include this new study, for a “direct toxic effect”. Why did child screen advice not go further?

What did the new research find? Mums were surveyed (between 2011 and 2016) about screen use, and filled out questionnaires about their child’s skills and development at ages two, three and five. Screen time included watching TV programmes, films or videos, gaming, and using a computer, tablet, phone or any other screen-based d_______________ (3 naprave).

At the age of two, the children were clocking up around 17 hours of screen time per week. This i_______________ (4 povečalo se je) to around 25 hours a week by the age of three but dropped to around 11 hours a week at the age of five, when the children started primary school.

The findings, p_______________ (5 objavljen) in the JAMA Paediatrics, suggest increased viewing begins before any delay in development can be seen, rather than children with poor developmental performance then going on to have more screen time.

But it is not clear whether screen time – including how much or what type – is directly to b_______________ (6 kriviti). Screen use might just go hand-in-hand with other things linked to delayed development, such as upbringing and how a child’s remaining l_______________ (7 prosti) time is spent.

When young children are observing screens, they may be missing important opportunities to practise and master other important skills. In theory, it could get in the way of social interactions and may limit how much time young children spend running, climbing and practising other physical skills – although they may still e_______________ (8 sčasoma) catch up.

Even without solid proof of harm, Dr Sheri Madigan and colleagues say it still makes sense to moderate children’s screen time and make sure it doesn’t interfere with “face-to-face interactions or family time”. They also said that, with hindsight, perhaps they should have followed the children from an even younger age because it is becoming increasingly c_______________ (9 običajno) for 12-month-old babies to be watching and using screens.

How much is too much? It is a good question, without a satisfactory answer.

The new study does not make any r_______________ (10 priporočila) about how much is too much. Some of the two-year-olds were getting more than four hours a day or 28 hours a week of screen use, according to their mums. The American Association of Paediatrics’ (AAP) guidelines on screen time say:

For children younger than 18 months, a_______________ (11 izogibati se) use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they are seeing. For children ages two to five years, limit screen use to one hour per day of high-quality programmes. Again, parents should be watching it with their children. For children ages six and older, place consistent limits, making sure screen time does not get in the way of sleep and physical activity. The Canadian Paediatric Society goes further, saying screen time for children younger than two is not recommended.

The UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) put out guidelines earlier this year, but sets no limit.

It says “evidence is weak for a threshold to guide children and parents to the a_______________ (12 primeren) level of screen time, and we are unable to recommend a cut-off for children’s screen time overall”. Instead, it advises families to ask themselves:

Is screen time in your household controlled?

Does screen use interfere with what your family want to do?

Does screen use interfere with sleep?

Are you able to control snacking during screen time?

If a family can ask themselves these questions, and are s_______________ (13 zadovoljen) with the answers, then they can be reassured that they are “likely to be doing as well as they can with this tricky i_______________ (14 problem)”, says the RCPCH.

The AAP advises families to designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms. The RCPCH says adults should consider their own use of screens and set a good example.

Most experts also advise that children are not e_______________ (15 izpostavljeni) to screens for an hour before bed, so that their brains have time to wind down for sleep.

Dr Bernadka Dubicka, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “We still need more research to tell us which children are most v_______________ (16 dovzetni) to the harms of screen use and the impact it may have on a child’s mental health. “We also need to look at the effects of different content as there are also many positive ways of using screens.”

(Adapted from https://www.bbc.com/ on 28 January 2019)

Rešitve naloge / Answer Key