Being a counsellor as well as a school chaplain makes for an intriguing combination. Since I am a fairly contemplative chap, with a background in science – I have been doing some thinking and research into childhood behavior issues and screen time. From what I have found so far there is a link between negative behaviour and screen time. The more time (especially more than 2 hours per day) that our young ones are spending on screens, the worse their behaviour is likely to be! Check out this excerpt from a study done by researchers at the University of Queensland last year: “The higher the average screen time by all children in the family, the worse the child’s behaviour…” **

Most parents report difficulty in finding the time and space to increase physical activity and reduce screen time in the family (Hamilton et al, 2015). Schoeppe et al (2016) explain the best way to reduce screen time for children is to model it (low screen usage) in the home and furthermore that this is also the most effective way to improve the behaviour of screen time affected children. Other studies also show that the benefits make it worthwhile – and they don’t mean just for the kids! Improved behaviour in the home is an expected outcome if children are spending more time in physical activity and reducing their time gaming, scrolling, or watching things on screens (Halpin et al, 2021).

“Investigators from University of Queensland Release New Data on Preventive Medicine (Screen Time and Child Behaviour and Health-Related Quality of Life: Effect of Family Context).” 2021, p. 2851.
Hamilton, Kyra, et al. “Exploring Parents’ Beliefs About Their Young Child’s Physical Activity and Screen Time Behaviours.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 24, no. 9, 2015, pp. 2638–2652.
Halpin, Samuel, et al. “Parenting and Child Behaviour Barriers to Managing Screen Time With Young Children.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 30, no. 3, 2021, pp. 824–838.
Schoeppe, Stephanie, et al. “How Is Adults’ Screen Time Behaviour Influencing Their Views on Screen Time Restrictions for Children? A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health, vol. 16, no. 209, 2016, p. 201.