Experts call for limiting screen time for children

Islamabad: The experts have discouraged children younger than age 2 from using smart phones and tablets and advised to limit time to maximum one or two hours a day for younger children to avoid health hazards.

Medical Expert from Poly Clinic Hospital Dr Sharif Astori said Children who use smart phones and tablets are at risk of potential irreversible eye-damage because of blue light emissions from digital devices according to a leading Sydney optometrist. He told that Exposure in children could possibly lead to early onset macular degeneration the leading cause of blindness for those over 50 or earlier.

Cell phone usage can also lead to early cataract in lens apart from affecting retina cornea and other ocular systems of the eye, he added.Child Specialist Dr Sadia Saeed suggested parents to make sure that kids have a wide variety of free time activities like reading, playing with friends and sports which can all play a vital part in helping them develop a healthy body and mind.

Screen time is a term used for activities done in front of a screen such as watching TV working on a computer playing videogames or using smart phones.Screen time is sedentary activity meaning you are being physically inactive while sitting down.

A mother Amnah Inam said what worries her was that people were giving tablets and phones to children as young as two to play with and over years we really don’t know what the ramifications might be. “I use to give smart phones to my children to watch poems and cartoons now they have got addicted to it. I am concerned that this habit will cause loss of eyesight,” she added.