News Investigation

Our web-addict kids miss meals and sleep

Nov 2012 🇦🇺 news.com.au

Reporting on an Edith Cowan University study finding that roughly one in five Australian children spend enough time online that it displaces meals and sleep, this news.com.au piece quotes Michael Carr-Gregg's recommendations for parents. He advises removing screens — TVs, computers, tablets, and phones — from children's bedrooms so parents can monitor use and protect sleep, recommends no screen time at all for children under two, and suggests balancing each hour of screen use with an hour of active outdoor play. He also stresses that children under 10 need at least 10 hours of sleep and older children 8–9 hours, and that internet use should not be allowed to cut into that. TechKids Foundation cites this as an early, widely read example of Carr-Gregg's practical screen-time guidance for parents.

~1 in 5 children

The Edith Cowan University research cited in this piece found roughly one in five Australian children spend enough time online that it interferes with meals and sleep.

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CITATION

Bita, Natasha. "Our web-addict kids miss meals and sleep." news.com.au, 28 November 2012. https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/our-webaddict-kids-miss-meals-and-sleep/news-story/457c2609b13fc2336b3d2a2ef1597160

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