People (especially parents and their kids) go back and forth on how much screen time (including phones) is healthy for kids. The National Institute of Health followed 11,000 subjects age 9/10 into adulthood. It was a landmark study, costing $300 million and spanning many years. Here is some of what they reported:
When the child has spent 7 or more hours a day of screen time, their cerebral cortex, which is the area of the brain that processes sensory information, shows premature thinning. With 2 or more hours a day they were less successful on thinking and language tests. In other words, it seems that screen time is changing our children’s brains.
Granted, this is only a preliminary study. They’re doing more research to determine a solid cause/effect relationship, if there is one, as data seems to indicate right now. Even so, I think it makes sense for us to be aware of it and be on the safe side by following guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy suggests no screen time at all for 18 – 24 months. Then, for age 2 – 5, no more than an hour a day, but of high quality programming that you watch with your child. Sounds like a reasonable precaution to me.