Children and technology: Screen use

What can be done to protect children’s health in an environment where digital devices are everywhere? In this episode, host Sophie Guy talks with Dr Anthea Rhodes, a paediatrician and expert on the health impacts of digital technology from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. The conversation covers a range of issues including the challenges families are facing in managing the impacts of technology, the effects of screen use on children’s health and development, and how to work with families to address problems with the amount of screen time for children.

In this episode you will learn:

• Challenges that technology presents in families (02:08)
• Impact of screen use on sleep (06:48)
• Impact of screen use on language development (09:11)
• How to work with families to address problems related to screen use (16:12)
• Key messages for practitioners around children and screen use (28:46)

Further information and resources:

• RCH National Child Health Poll on Screen Time
• e-safety Commissioner
• Department of Health’s Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines and the Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines
• Common Sense Media
• Australian Council on Children and Media