(STUDY FINDS) — Drastically reducing children’s leisure screen time to just three hours per week can lead to significant improvements in their mental health and behavior in as little as two weeks, a new study shows. The research, led by Dr. Jesper Schmidt-Persson from the University of Southern Denmark, offers a powerful and actionable strategy for parents concerned about their children’s well-being in our increasingly digital world.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, involved 89 families with 181 children and adolescents between four and 17 years-old. Half of these families were asked to limit their leisure screen time to a maximum of three hours per week per person – a dramatic reduction from the average seven to eight hours per day that many children typically spend on screens for entertainment.
The results were remarkable. After just two weeks (14 days) of this reduced screen time regimen, children in the intervention group showed significant improvements in their overall behavior and emotional well-being. Using a standardized assessment tool called the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), researchers found that these children experienced a decrease in behavioral difficulties equivalent to moving from the “borderline” category to the “normal” category.
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