POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Yes I am from the Sesame Street generation
and watched a lot of TV in my day. In fact, I remember beautiful summer days spent sitting inside in
front of a screen. In defense of my parents, I’m not
sure we had the kind of research we have today.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Limit
your children’s use of TV, movies, and video and
computer games to no more than one or two hours
per day.” Enough said.
Most of us would agree that childhood obesity is
an issue in our country, and screen time contributes
to this problem. Excessive screen time also contributes to mental health issues. According to Scott M.
Shannon, author of Please
Don’t Label My Child, 80%
of the world’s stimulant medi-
cation is used in the United
States to treat mental health
issues such as ADHD. Shan-
non says, “If an environment
is positive ... the brain will re-
spond with enhanced dendrit-
ic interconnections, cerebral
blood vessels, self-regulation,
Readers may be shocked to find me
arguing the contrary case against conventional
wisdom. Nonetheless, I believe we should not
limit screen time for the following reasons:
