Kid’s spending too much time in front of screens

As the weather warms up doctors are encouraging parents to get their kids outside and away from screens. Not just television screens, but iPads, cellphones and computers as well.

Medical professionals warn too much screen time can lead to problems such as obesity, sleep and eating disorders, school difficulties and attention problems.

“I mean if you watch television commercials, a lot of television shows, very quick cuts, flash images, images after images after images going really quickly, you know that all plays a role in attention deficit disorder,” said Dave Romero, a physician assistant.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids over the age of two years old, should spend no more than two hours of their day in front of a screen.

47 ABC decided to ask parents what they thought of those of guidelines.

“I think two hours is great,” said David Tufle. “We usually give (our son) an hour in the morning and an hour at night, the rest of the the time, if it’s a day like this, we try to be outside.”

Lorna Cannon also agreed with the two hour time limit, saying instead of spending time in front of a screen children “need to play the need run they need to jump they need to learn to speak to each other not this all the time.”

Cannon added that when her grandchildren spend too much time in front of a screen they get grumpy.

Cannon said she believes it’s up to parents to not only regulate how long their kids spend in front of screens, but also to lead by example.

“I see parents doing this just as much the children, they’re not watching their children anymore. They need to be watched, they need to be played with,” Cannon said.

Officials suggest setting up “screen free” zones at home, such as bedrooms and the dining room.