A Doctor Answers: I Feel Like My Child Is Addicted to Screen Time — What Do I Do?

From cell phones and tablets to computers and, of course, TVs, there's no question that screen time is a serious part of our lives today. And kids are no strangers to it either.

So, when one mom brought her 11-year-old who *loves* her cell phone to our show, Dr. Ian Smith addressed her concerns.

Question: "My lovely daughter here Sofia is absolutely addicted to her cell phone. Is it going to start affecting her socially?"

— Rosa, viewer

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Answer: Dr. Ian admits that screen time is a concern.

"Studies have shown that children who are excessively on screens can have impairment in their social development [and] cognitive delay developing," he says. But, as we are in a digital age, he explains, he doesn't want to vilify electronics.

So, he explains that the most important thing in this situation is to strike a balance. At his house, his son is now allowed one hour of electronics time each weekday, but *only* after homework has been completed.

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"Everyone should figure out their own time," though, says the doc.

"Whatever works for you, try it for two weeks." The key, he says, is if you tell your child that it's time to go to bed or time for dinner and they refuse to get off and ask for more time on the device... That means it's NOT working.

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