Too Much Screen Time will damage the Brain, Read Instead!

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

February 20, 2023 – Science has proven that too much screen time can damage your kids’ brains.

Experts say, to read to them and with them instead.  From the ages of 1 to 5, your child’s brain is developing and reading has a positive effect on that development.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says: “Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.”

Reading to your children provides them with exposure, exposure to language that they need to support brain development.   Allowing your children to read on their own stimulates their brains in the areas of speech, vision and more.

In addition, reading has been proven to decrease stress, slow the progression of some mental illnesses including anxiety and even heighten life expectancy.

One of the easiest ways to incorporate reading even before your child can recognize the words is by reading them a bedtime story.  Make it part of the routine and soon they’ll likely start asking for stories without being prompted.

Take them to the library and allow them to pick their own books, making it an adventure that they’ll want to participate in.

Children are naturally curious, and they love stories once you get them interested, so take some time to help develop your child’s brain today!