Dr. Corey McCarty Discusses Kids and Screen Time

Are you waging a war in your household with your kids over their screen time? If so, you're not alone. BCH family medicine physician Dr. Corey McCarty recently sat down to discuss screen time for kids with Denver7 News.

It's important to note that not all screen time is bad. Using technology to video chat with a loved one or play games that promote problem-solving can have benefits for younger kids. Many kids begin using screens to do school work at a young age and continue to use it through high school. While this type of use is okay, the use of screens for entertainment should be kept to a minimum.

Explains Dr. McCarty: "We are complex organisms and if we touch things and feel things and sense things, we develop new connections, new integrations to neurochemistry." For younger ages, it's important for kids to have a lot of interaction with their environment to develop socially and intellectually. As kids get older, it is important for them to limit activities such as gaming and social media and spend more time forming genuine connections and relationships with their peers.

Of course, it is important for parents to model good behavior around screen use by setting -- and following -- house rules around screen use such as no screens in the bedroom or at the dinner table.

For the latest recommendations on screen time and to learn how to develop a Personalized Family Media Use Plan from the American Academy of Pediatrics, visit www.healthychildren.org.