Children spending lengthy periods on tablets could be prone to chronic neck and back pain in future

                                                                                                                    (C)Washingtonpost

There have been various researches on the long term effect of the use of tablets by children for lengthy periods at a time. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine found that the use of interactive screen time under 30 months could impair a child’s development of the skills needed for maths and science.
Recent research has suggested children who spend more than 30minutes at a time on their iPads could suffer from chronic neck and back pain in later life. Experts warn hunching over iPads at young age entrench bad habits which will cause musculoskeletal issues in adulthood.
Stephanie Cassidy, a Melbourne-based ergonomist and occupational therapist, said children should only spend a maximum of half an hour in a fixed position before moving again.
Despite this, researchers at Curtin University, Australia, have found many families are allowing children to spend an hour or more on their tablet devices.
More than 40 per cent of parents surveyed in the study admitted they used electronic devices to keep their children 'calm and happy' for substantial periods.
Guidelines in some countries advise a maximum one hour of screen time (including television) for children between two and five, with no electronic device use for children younger than two.
Yet the Curtin University study of 159 children aged five and younger, including 30 younger than two, found one-quarter watched TV for more than an hour a day during the week, rising to nearly half on weekends.
Sixty per cent spent up to an hour using tablets or mobile phones during the week, with nearly 10 per cent spending more than an hour a day on their tablets during the weekends.
Therapists have warned that youngsters should only spend 30minutes in a fixed position at every given time.
Recently, clinical psychologist Linda Blair warned children should not be allowed to use phones and iPads before school because it can damage their concentration in class.
Inputs from DailyMail