NCC’s online safety campaign   |16 March 2023

Ambassador (Dr) Athanasius

Think B4U Click

 On March 6, the National Council for Children (NCC) launched a public education campaign entitled ‘Think B4U Click’ aimed at helping children and their parents keep and stay safe online. The idea behind this awareness campaign is to encourage parents, carers and their children to develop a better understanding of the impact of using technology as a communication tool.

NCC hopes the Think B4U Click campaign will encourage parents and carers to talk to their children about staying safe online as well as get providers to create time and effort to make their sites safer for children.

NCC is using a range of public media platforms to promote this online safety campaign. These include the use of radio, television, facebook, Instagram, you tube and the newspapers.

The campaign includes the release of video clips promoting online safety, interviews on radio and television with key stakeholders, NCC officers and a group of children, an animation showing the impact of posting personal and private information on facebook, newspaper articles as well as the Alphabet Online Safety Adverts/Messages.

Parents and carers having conversation with their child(ren) from a very young age helps build trust and openness. Ongoing discussions between parents and their children will help get preventative messages across. Setting boundaries and putting time limits on screen time and building a network of people looking for your child online will also contribute towards protecting them from harm.

San Finesse, NCC’s communication and information officer, had the pleasure of holding a learning conversation with Dr Erna Athanasius, a pediatrician and the chair of the National Commission for Child Protection who is very knowledgeable in the field of safeguarding and the protection of children. Outlined in the following interview are her views and personal opinions on ‘Early Access to Technology’.

Q: Should children in their early childhood have access to technological devices?

A: Children under the age of 2 years should not be given access to technological devices. Plain and simple!

Children, especially those under age 5, need to explore their environments and develop motor skills by moving around and being curious. That is not happening if they are spending all of their time looking at an electronic device. Early childhood years are critical for learning and interacting socially, in order for language and communication skills to develop. Neuronal connections occur during these early years. So it stands to reason that early exposure to screen time impacts negatively on development for pre-schoolers. When screen exposure occurred at 24 months it was predictive of lower developmental outcomes at 36 months in a study conducted on 2,441 children in the USA not too long ago. And similarly, increased screen time exposure at 36 months also was related to decrease developmental outcomes at 60 months.

Parents do not realise that they are able to teach their children better than any electronic device and do not give themselves enough credit, believing that downloading “educational” YouTube videos is better for their kids. Children need to spend quality face-to-face time with parents and caregivers in order to allow for the development of verbal and non-verbal expression.

Q: What is the right age for children to be introduced to technology?

A: Exposure to some screen time is OK for children aged 3-5 years, but only if it is part of a healthy lifestyle. This means inclusive of physical and creative play, reading and socialising in person, and a good night’s sleep. Notwithstanding the above, screen time and exposure to the electronic devices we speak of, still requires adult involvement i.e., parents/guardians or trusted caregiver, is required to watch with the child and engage the child at the same time. Explain what you are watching and talk about it together. And as the child gets older pick a show that everyone in the family can watch together and make it a bonding experience.

Hence, creating the right balance in life, which may also include screen time at the mentioned age group and developmental stage is acceptable, however, it must be accompanied by rules to help the child organise his/her day. Rules may be based on:

•           WHERE: Watching TV/mobile device in the family room and not the bedroom or the car.
•           WHEN: not at mealtimes, family gatherings, and never before school or bedtime.
•           WHAT: Parents have the responsibility to screen programmes for the child to watch – not everything that is animated is for children and not all the “children programmes” online are appropriate.
•           HOW LONG: Set limits – Use a timer. Children at his age should not be over exposed to the screens we are referring to for longer than 30 minutes to an hour at the most.

Q: What are the benefits or the negative impacts of children spending long durations in front of screens?

Excessively long exposure to any screens has a negative impact on the development of a child and has been mentioned in the first response. Anything with a screen is screen time – TV, phone, tablet and computer. Anything involving a person looking at a screen is screen time.

However, actively watching a movie is different from having the TV on in the background while doing other things. Video chatting and interacting with another person via a screen is also very different from sitting and watching something or playing a video game and parents need to be conscious of that.

Q: Is it healthy or good for children to be too reliant on technology? Share your professional views.

A: Studies have shown that excessive screen exposure, even in adolescents, decreases cognitive function and attention span and thus can affect children’s academic performance.

Younger children do not have the ability to communicate well and to tell you what they do and do not want, and screen time does not help to cultivate that. Screen time does not teach them the cues of communication because they are passively watching something but they are not watching “how does my mama or papa react when I do this or that?” So that affects their emotional intelligence and how to adapt to a changing world. This is key in real life situations. Younger kids need back and forth interaction and they are looking for that responsive, emotional connection, and trying to understand social cues. That does not happen when watching a TV show on their own or when playing a video game, including those that are being considered “educational” by some gullible parents.

Q: What are the side effects that parents should watch out for or indicators of their child being over-exposed to technological devices?

A: In some cases, the emotional impact of screen time can be devastating. For example, studies have connected higher rates of screen time to decreased mood and depression in teenagers.

The general principles of blue light affecting melatonin production and sleep apply to both children and adults. However, children may be even more sensitive to blue light than adults, as they also have larger pupils. A research study found that evening light exposure suppressed melatonin twice as much in children compared to adults. Researchers found that children who had not yet gone through puberty experienced significantly more melatonin suppression in response to evening light compared with post-puberty adolescents. This leads to later bed-times and sleep loss.

Research has shown that sleep loss is linked with inattentiveness, poor impulse control, and difficulty self-regulating. Children who do not get sufficient sleep are also at risk for poorer school performance. The symptoms of sleep loss in children often mirror the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which may lead to a misdiagnosis of ADHD in some sleep-deprived children. Which is why I always ask about screen exposure when I see my patients.

Certain hormones that help with muscle mass, a healthy immune system, and cell repair are released during sleep, so these functions may also be impacted in children who are not sleeping enough.

In a nutshell, inappropriate screen exposure can absolutely decrease cognitive function and attention spans, and have an impact on energy levels and emotions.

Today in Seychelles, we are seeing many more of the following:

•          Primary school-age children who watch TV or use a mobile device more than 2 hours per day with significant emotional and behavioural problems;
•          Primary school-age children who have televisions in their bedrooms and their own personal tablet, who do badly on academic testing (poor school performance);

• Children who spend too much time engaging in sedentary activity, such as watching TV and playing video games, leading to them being overweight or blatantly obese;
• Sleep problems are more common today as parents use TV to wind down before bed. The light emitted from screens interferes with the sleep cycle as already mentioned;
• Violence: the exposure to violent TV shows, movies, music, and video games can cause children to become desensitized to it. And when they see the same violence in their communities, they see it as normal and eventually, they may use violence to solve problems and may imitate what they see on the screens they are exposed to. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry).

It is plain as day, that excessive screen exposure is detrimental in an abundance of ways and parents have a significant role to play here.

Q: Today, more kids have developmental disabilities. More kids are obese than ever before. More kids are being diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. ADHD, coordination disorder, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, and depression are on the rise due to excessive use of technology among kids. Is this true and what is your advice to us?

All of the above has been answered but my advice is the following:

Most of the conversations about the dangers of screen time tend to focus on children. But, it is important to recognise that adults may experience many of the same harmful effects as well, like obesity and sleep problems.

On the other hand, even if you are not experiencing any noticeable health problems as a result of your digital device use, it is almost certain that your use could be harming your relationship with your child.

In a 2015 survey by AVG Technologies, one-third of children reported feeling unimportant when their parents looked at their smartphones during meals or when playing together. Even replying to a quick text message could be sending your child another message – that your phone is more important than he is. 

Repeatedly checking your smartphone while caring for your child could also affect his development and his mental health. A 2016 study suggests looking at your digital devices could increase your child's chances of developing mental health problems, like depression.

By establishing family rules regarding electronic devices and setting healthy limits on your electronics use for your own sake, as well as your child's sake will certainly help. Telling your child to turn off his video games while you are sitting in front of the TV will not do anyone any good. Parents need to set the example and role model for their children.

A few examples of good rules to establish as mentioned above as well: 

• No digital devices during family meals;
• No electronics use during family fun nights;
• No screen time in the car;
• No screens allowed in bedrooms.

In addition, one might consider committing to a complete electronic device detox for the whole family every Sunday, or a screen-free night another day of the week, or one whole weekend a month. It could be good for everyone's physical and emotional health, as well as family relationships.

I hope this has been helpful and although it is over the top, that is how much I am against allowing young children unlimited, unsupervised screen time. I see the devastation on a daily basis in my clinic and all of the effects are preventable.

The decline in our society is tangible to say the least and improving our outcomes as a whole, depends on all of us doing our part to assist our younger generation to understand family as the unit of a community and society, to use the digital devices appropriately, and for good.

Ambassador (Dr) Erna Hellen Athanasius MD Pediatrics (USA)

Consultant Paediatrician - Early Childhood Intervention Centre|

Chairperson National Commission for Child Protection|

Chairperson National Immunization Technical Advisory Group