Session 8: The influence of screen time on young children’s mental health and wellbeing

Introduction

Much has been written about the impact of screen time and the internet on very young children. As the course draws to a close, you’ll start the final session by looking at the influence of screen time and the internet on young children’s lives, and consider the potential physical and mental health effects. You’ll start to explore some of the ways that we can support children to develop healthy habits in relation to the use of electronic devices and access to the internet and, for older children and adolescents, social media. You’ll also review the systems around children and look at the responsibilities of all who work and care for young children, not just in relation to managing their access to screen time, but also to supporting children’s mental health in broader terms.

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Transcript: Audio 1

JACKIE MUSGRAVE

You'll probably have seen that much has been written about the impact of screen time, the internet, and social media on very young children. As the course draws to a close, we start off this week by looking at the influence of screen time, the internet, and social media on young children's lives, looking at the physical and the mental effects. We start to explore some of the ways that we can support children to develop healthy habits in relation to the use of electronic devices and access to the internet and social media.

We also review the systems around children and look at the responsibilities of all who work and care for young children, not just in relation to managing their access to screen time but also to supporting children's mental health in broader terms. This session will help you to explain why it's important to support young children to develop healthy approaches. It will also help you to summarise the ways that the systems around children can support their mental health and wellbeing.

And very importantly, it will also help you to identify your role in supporting young children's health and wellbeing. The quiz this week is one that you can do to contribute towards your badge, so best of luck. We really hope that you enjoy your final week of the course and that this learning has whetted your appetite for further study.

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By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• explain why it is important to support young children to develop healthy approaches to screen time
• summarise the ways that the systems around children can support their mental health and wellbeing
• identify your role in supporting young children’s health and wellbeing.