In this era of technology, it is understandable that most children spend their time watching movies, playing video games on laptops, or on smartphones, among other things.  

Because of this, medical specialists suggest that attention should be paid to how these youngsters spend their time, cautioning that too much screen time can affect a child’s physical and mental health.

Under three years

Dr Alphonse Sebaganwa, an education expert and Rwanda Education Board official, says,

"Normally, a child under three years should not be looking at these big screens. It negatively affects the brain because their eyes’ organs are still fragile without the ability to resist the energy emitted from the light of those gadgets,” Sebaganwa tells Wellness.

He adds that if not controlled, they can suffer eye defects like myopia (a condition in which close objects appear clearly, but far ones don’t) or hypermetropia (farsighted; a vision condition in which nearby objects are blurry) when they are older.

Three to five years

The brain’s outer layer in charge of memory is called the cortex, according to Dr Egide Gisagara, an optician at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK). This, as he explains, is destroyed if children spend more time on the screen.

"This is why you find older children losing concentration in class and can’t pay attention to the lectures because their younger years were spent on screens,” he adds.

He says that kids aged between three and five should not exceed two hours of screen time. Otherwise, their memory capacity is negatively altered and they rarely perform well in class.

Five to 12 years

From five to 12, education experts assert that kids should spend two to three hours on the screen and if on the internet, an elder’s supervision and guidance is required. 

"A child is always instructed to have a guide on the internet before the age of twelve. This is because below that age, they are not able to choose what is right and fitting for them,” Sebaganwa tells Wellness.

After twelve years of age, Sebaganwa explains, if a kid has been managing screen time well, it won’t propel any effects at this age, but if not, then the kid and parents could suffer the consequences. 

"Children who have been over exposed to TV can be spotted when they are older,” says Gisagara. 

"Those children present general issues, and do not get restful nights because their eyes have been damaged by the brightness from the screens,” he adds.

Furthermore, too much screen time can lead inhibit the ability to focus on near and far objects, a condition called presbyopia.

He also adds that this can hinder the class performance of a child because, "it makes a child addicted to the screen and reading becomes a bit tough.”

In addition to that, the child’s ability to reason decreases because they have been used to the swiftness of movies and other videos, hence, they also respond to questions fast without reasoning,” Gisagara adds.

Francoise Kankindi, a father of five, says he has seen kids grow violent due to the movies they watch and, sometimes they present awkward social relations.

"Some become more violent trying to imitate what they see on TV, but most importantly, I know some kids who upon joining boarding school become lonely as they are not used to interacting with peers. This is due to spending most of their time on TV at home,” says Kankindi.

The above effects are problems that have emerged following increased usage of electronic gadgets at home and other places. Medics say that prevention remains the main strategy in managing the time children spend on electronic gadgets; modification in the ergonomics of the environment, patient education and proper eye care, are important strategies in preventing health risks.