Supported by the renaissance deputy Caroline Janvier, the bill on the prevention of excessive exposure of children up to 6 years to screens was examined on Monday March 6 by the National Assembly in first reading. Your exam continues this Tuesday, March 7.
· What is the time that the youngest spend in front of the screens?
And to continue: “This average only increases with age. This uplifting figure represents between a third and a quarter of a child’s normal waking time.”
Children are not all the same when it comes to this phenomenon. Several factors can explain a lot of screen time from a young age. “The socioeconomic environment in which they live, the educational level of their parents or the family composition of their home are determining factors, listed the rapporteur of the Social Affairs Commission. Single-parent families are also more subject to overexposure to their children’s screens.”
· What are the risks of overexposure to screens?
The risks are multiple and sometimes even too little known. Exposure to blue light emitted by screens affects the quality and quantity of sleep. “For children 6 to 36 months, every hour spent in front of a tablet or smartphone reduces nighttime sleep time by nearly 30 minutes,” Caroline Janvier said.
Beyond sleep, language learning disorders, written as well as oral, can be caused. This is observed even more when exposure to screens occurs before the school day.
It can also “promote the appearance of vision disorders, such as dry eyes (…) or myopia”. Overexposure and “the risk of overweight and obesity are also closely related,” MP Renaissance listed.
· What measures are proposed?
The bill provides for the inclusion in the public health code of a chapter dedicated to the prevention of risks related to screens, together with the fight against addictions linked to smoking and alcoholism.
The text proposes the creation of risk training for health and early childhood professionals. The objective: “to raise awareness and put them in a position to establish a dialogue with parents”, can be read in the bill. Structures, from early childhood to primary schools, are also expected to incorporate restrictive rules for the use of screens for supervisors.
It is also proposed to insert prevention messages on the packaging of computers, tablets and telephones, as well as in all advertising messages related to these products.
Finally, on the parents’ side, the text provides for the insertion of recommendations on the proper use of screens in the pregnancy notebook, “a document that benefits from wide dissemination among young parents”, justifies the bill.
· Why target children from 0 to 6 years old?
The proposal is specifically aimed at children up to 6 years old. If the text, supported by the government, is agreed upon in the Hemicycle, the defined age group has been debated. In particular, the RN and LR groups had tabled amendments to extend preventive measures up to twelve years. They were rejected, after an unfavorable opinion from the rapporteur.
“Obviously, it would be relevant to have texts that address all ages, including adolescents, who are exposed to other risks with the evolution of content. But I chose this age group because consumption habits are formed from a very young age. That’s why we must focus in this defined age group, where the child’s cognitive development is at stake”, explains Caroline Janvier.
Source: BFM TV
