Connect with us

Health and Wellness

We quickly limit children’s screen time. Parents can also benefit from setting boundaries

Published

on

In many households, screens are a part of on a regular basis life – from work to entertainment.

But for folks, setting boundaries around screens doesn’t just apply to children; it’s also about modeling a balanced approach to screen use. Our research shows that folks who spend an excessive amount of time in front of screens may unknowingly encourage their children to interact in similar habits.

Excessive screen time in young children is linked to: developmental delays in communication and problem solving. One explanation is screen time displaces parent-child interactions that are crucial for development. This is usually presented as a baby’s screen time crowding out these interactions.

But when parents use smartphones incessantly, it comes with lower responsiveness and a spotlight towards your kids, especially when it involves screen time occurs during on a regular basis activities reminiscent of dinner time.

Parents haven’t got to ban screens to be more present with their children. If parents watch age-appropriate TV with their children, it has it positive impact on reading and writing skills – perhaps in consequence of conversations in regards to the content of this system.

Parents can do so much to encourage healthier screen habits of their families through positive role modeling and thoughtful management.

Managing screen time is also essential as a parent physical and mental health.

The impact of a sedentary lifestyle on health

Screen time often means sitting for long periods of time, which can be harmful to our physical and mental health.

Our work has shown that prolonged sitting can lower blood sugar levels regulation, blood pressure, blood flow within the brain AND cognitive function.

But that doesn’t suggest you must feel guilty each time you lie down on the couch and watch some well-deserved Netflix.

Some of those effects can be eliminated by exercising before sitting for long periods, or by stopping sitting every half-hour and doing light activity – preferably each.

Break prolonged sitting with a walk or other activity.
Maxim Ibragimov/Shutterstock

You don’t even need to stop the TV to suit in school breaks. One study found that breaking up a sedentary evening of watching TV every half-hour with short bursts of body weight exercises (squats, calf raises, and hip extensions) extending sleep time by half-hour. This is significant because sleep strengthens your immune systemwhich helps maintain good physical and mental condition.

While exercise and sleep help, what’s in your screen also matters. Mentally, passive screen use – reminiscent of scrolling through social media – is related to higher risks depression and even dementiawhile mentally energetic screen use (solving problems and completing tasks) can actually protect you.

One sec almost two thirds of fogeys imagine they can reduce sedentary screen time, for the remaining third, an alternative choice is to switch screen time with mentally energetic activities.

Our eyes and brain also need rest

Our eyes and minds will not be designed to consistently spend time in front of a screen. Staring at a screen for too long can cause dry eyes, headaches and blurred vision – all symptoms eye strain.

Screens also affect our brain. Research has shown that excessive and disordered screen use is expounded cognitive function deficits. Our brains need breaks to consolidate information and recharge. Without regular breaks, we risk cognitive burnout, which makes it difficult to remain productive, focused, and even potentially manage screen time.

The man looks away from the laptop and holds his glasses
Our bodies struggle with constant screen time.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

What can we do?

The guidelines recommend adults limit recreational screen time. However, a message to easily “limit screen time” could also be unhelpful to many, especially when screens are embedded in modern life.

Here are another ways to scale back the negative consequences of excessive screen time:

  • avoid digital eye strain. Follow The 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, rest your eyes by something 20 feet away for 20 seconds

  • move commonly. Exercise commonly and break up your sedentary lifestyle with activity every half-hour to achieve metabolic and cognitive advantages

  • limit passive screen time. Try replacing some passive on-screen activities (doom scrolling) with mentally engaging ones like puzzles, creative projects, or educational content

  • modeling sustainable screen use for kids. This may mean watching and discussing educational programs together.

Finally, we cannot solely blame poor screen time management on a scarcity of self-control. The content on our screens is designed to be addictive for folks and kids.

One parent reported that their child did avoid going to the bathroom a lot in order that they wet themselves while playing a Roblox online game because they didn’t want their character to die.

Many parents can relate to this – albeit with higher bladder control. We’ve all experienced doom rewinds where time seems to vanish and we can’t even remember what we saw.

If you are susceptible to doom scrolling at once, one idea is to do exactly that take heed to tips about the best way to stop. Consider going for a walk and resting for some time. It will make you are feeling higher.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Health and Wellness

Nick Cannon Reveals Diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder: ‘I Always Knew’

Published

on

By

Nick Cannon, Nick Cannon kids, Nick Cannon mental health, Nick Cannon narcissistic personality disorder, what is narcissistic personality disorder, theGrio.com

Nick Cannon struggles with a brand new mental health diagnosis. In an interview with People MagazineThe 44-year-old artist, entrepreneur and father of 12, who already identifies as neurodiverse, explained that he was recently diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder.

“I still don’t fully understand it, but I’ve always wanted to test myself on it. I did a lot of tests,” Cannon said, adding: “I was diagnosed with ADHD. I had dyslexia as a child, but knowing that I was neurodiverse, I kind of always knew it.”

According to Mayo Clinicnarcissistic personality disorder is “a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of self-worth” and subsequently continually seek attention and admiration. “People with this disorder may be unable to understand or care about other people’s feelings,” the clinic’s explanation continues. “But behind the mask of extreme self-confidence, they are unsure of their worth and become easily upset by the slightest criticism.” This disorder is diagnosed more often in men than in women and is frequently treated with talk therapy.

As for the way Cannon is dealing together with his diagnosis, he told People magazine that he’s leaning toward acceptance as he tries to get well.

“I feel like there are so many labels, but it’s like being able to take them and say, ‘Listen, I’m getting better. I need help. Show me. I just feel very strongly about mental health and therapy,” he said. “Being able to say that I’m an example to others, but also heal during the self-process, works too.”

As People noted, Cannon first revealed his diagnosis on the November 8 episode of his podcast “Counsel Culture” when he hosted psychologist Dr. Cheyenne Bryant. According to Cannon, he was “clinically diagnosed” after most of the “markers” of narcissistic personality disorder were identified. Nevertheless, he refuses to think about being labeled a narcissist as a negative thing.

“I have taken all the power away from the term narcissism because I have researched it and I understand it,” Cannon told Bryant. “Call me whatever you want… now if I didn’t know what it was, I’d have a problem with it.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
Continue Reading

Health and Wellness

This breathing expert helps us breathe easier in a world that puts undue burdens on Black women – Essence

Published

on

By

Gerald Carter

When Jasmine Marie was fresh out of business school and dealing in global brand marketing, she realized she was stressed. As Marie told ESSENCE, “Nobody ever said it outright, but the basic message was that if you want to succeed, you’re going to have to push yourself to the limits.”

But it got to the purpose where Marie literally experienced a physical response to the stress she was experiencing. So she tried to seek out a solution to reduce stress. At the time, she was volunteering at her church they usually were opening a community center offering free breathing classes.

After the primary session she was hooked.

“I just kept going and eventually got certified,” she said. However, during her training, she “noticed that there were very few practitioners of color, especially black ones.”

“Knowing how much [as Black people] keeping trauma in our bodies and the specific challenges we face in society” – Marie’s attitude immediately modified to how she could communicate this to our community. And so begins the story of Marie’s company, Black Girls Breathing.

This breathing expert helps us breathe easier in a world that places undue burdens on Black women

What exactly is breathing?

Marie says it’s “an active form of meditation that helps the nervous system reprogram its response to triggers, trauma, stress and anxiety.” She added that “our bodies are naturally wired to know easy methods to take care of stress, but if you take very specific circumstances into consideration, whether it’s generational trauma, social trauma or individual trauma, our system is overwhelmed.”

When this happens, “we live in fight or flight mode and have high cortisol levels. Our social experiences [this] more than any other demographic group.” “With all this, he’s like a muscle. If you don’t train it, you can kind of weaken, so we use breathing work to strengthen those muscles,” Marie explained. “It is believed to be a somatic tool that helps the body heal.”

Marie’s ultimate goal: “to provide free mental health resources to one million Black women and girls in our community [by 2025]” How can you breathe with Marie? She said it was as simple as “yes[ing] pledge on our website” at www.blackgirlsbreathing.com.

This breathing expert helps us breathe easier in a world that places undue burdens on Black women

Once you enroll, “you will be able to receive a free mental health toolkit that will include breathing videos, audio meditations, journaling prompts for very specific types of trauma, as well as cultural resources that are truly relevant to what it is to be a black woman experiences on a daily basis, in addition to other mental health resources.”

Black Girls Breathing is even back in person for the primary time for the reason that pandemic. This November and December, sessions will likely be held in Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas, with exact dates and times yet to be determined.

As for the long run of Black Girls Breathing, Marie said, “next year we will launch our breathwork facilitator program and… we have already started conversations with school systems. We want to be able to work with school counselors, especially in at-risk schools.”

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
Continue Reading

Health and Wellness

3 reasons why children put Lego up their noses

Published

on

By

Children, especially toddlers and preschoolers, have an uncanny ability to surprise adults. One of the more disturbing discoveries parents could make is that their child has stuck a small object, akin to a Lego piece, up their nose.

Queensland Children’s Hospital recently reported Over 1,650 children presented to the emergency department with foreign bodies within the nose over the past decade. The most typical items were Lego bricks, beads, marbles, batteries, buttons and crayons.

As Christmas approaches, we’ll likely see more of those little items showing up in our homes as toys, gifts or novelties.

But why do children put such things up their noses? This is how natural curiosity, developing superb motor skills, and a limited understanding of risk generally is a dangerous combination.

1. Children are curious creatures

Young children are naturally curious creatures. During infancy and preschool, children explore their surroundings using their senses. They touch, taste, smell, listen and take a look at every part around them. It is a natural a part of their development and an enormous a part of how they learn in regards to the world.

Scientists call it “curiosity-based learning“. They say children usually tend to explore unfamiliar objects or after they don’t fully understand how they work. This may explain why young children are inclined to be drawn to latest or unfamiliar objects in the house.

Unfortunately, this healthy developmental curiosity sometimes results in them putting things in places they should not be, like their nose.

2. Children are great at imitating

Young children often imitate what they see. This is confirmed by research that followed the identical group of children over time imitation plays a key role in child development. This prompts certain critical neural pathways within the brain. Imitation is very vital when learning to make use of and understand language and while learning superb motor skills akin to walking, clapping, catching a ball, waving and writing.

Put simply, when a baby imitates, it strengthens brain connections and helps him learn latest skills faster. Anecdotally, parents of young children could have the chance to see their younger children copying the expressions or gestures of their older siblings.

Putting objects up your nose is not any different. Young children see older children and adults placing objects near their faces – after they blow their nose, put on makeup, or eat – and judge to try it themselves.

Children see you placing objects near their faces, in order that they imitate you in sometimes dangerous ways.
(*3*)MDV Edwards/Shutterstock

3. Children don’t understand the risks yet

Young children will be curious. However, they should not have the cognitive ability or reasoning ability to grasp the results of putting objects into their nose or mouth. This generally is a dangerous combination. Therefore, supervision of the child is important.

Small, brilliant objects, objects with interesting textures or objects that resemble food are especially tempting for little ones.

What can I do?

Sometimes it is clear that the kid has put something up their nose, but not at all times. Your child could have pain or itching across the nose, discharge or bleeding from the nose, be nervous or uncomfortable.

If your child has difficulty respiration or you watched that she or he has inserted a pointy object or button cell battery, seek immediate medical attention. Button batteries may burn and damage tissues in only quarter-hour, which may result in infection and injury.

If your child puts an object where it shouldn’t:

  • keep calm: Your child will react to your emotions, so attempt to remain calm and assured

  • assess the situation: are you able to see the item? Is your child in a difficult situation?

  • encourage your child to achieve this blow your nose gently. This can assist you move the item

  • take your child outside within the sun: A brief exposure of a minute or two could cause a “sun sneeze” that could cause the topic to maneuver. However, it is best to avoid sniffing as this will likely cause the item to travel further down the respiratory tract and into the lungs

  • never try to remove the item yourself using tweezers, cotton swabs or other tools. This can push the item deeper into the nose, causing more damage.

If these methods don’t remove the item, your child just isn’t distressed and you don’t suspect the presence of a pointy object or button cell battery, see your GP. They may give you the chance to see and take away the item.

Prevention is best

Preventing these events starts with keeping small, shiny, tempting objects out of children’s reach and teaching them to not put objects up their noses or mouths.

Supervision is vital. Parents and caregivers will also be strict about what they convey into the house. If there’s another product, akin to the same product that doesn’t require a button cell battery, consider purchasing it.

Curiosity is a characteristic of children and a key learning process within the early years of life. However, this curiosity combined with a limited ability to acknowledge danger generally is a dangerous combination. By being aware of dangers, being supervised and taking appropriate motion when incidents occur, parents can keep their children secure while exploring the world.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending