SCREEN TIME
By Karen Spiller
The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, has released results of its latest Australian Child Health Poll (ACHP), which surveyed Australian parents in relation to the household use of screen-based devices (including televisions, computers, laptops, gaming consoles, iPhones, smartphones, iPads and other tablet devices). Findings include:
-
Almost all Australian teenagers, two- thirds of primary school-aged children and one-third of pre-schoolers now own their own tablet or smartphone
-
Teenagers spend the most amount of time on a screen-based device at home, of any age group, at almost 44 hours on average per week; parents averaged almost 40 hours per week
-
Three quarters of parents of children under six do not put time limits on screen use.
-
85 per cent of parents of young children (aged less than 6 years) said they used screenbased devices to occupy their children so they could get things done with one in four doing this every day of the week
-
Three in four teenagers, and one in six primary school-aged children, have their own social media accounts
-
Almost half of children regularly use screen-based devices at bedtime, with one in four children reporting sleep problems as a result
-
Teenagers using screens routinely at bedtime were also more likely to report experiencing online bullying
-
50 per cent of toddlers and pre-schoolers are using a screen-based device without supervision.
Parents are urged to monitor students' use of devices, especially close to bedtime. We continue to support our students in encouraging their responsible use of social media though our various proactive programs.