Welcome, eager learner! Let’s talk about something super cool! Have you ever played on a phone or a tablet or watched TV? That’s called “screen time.” It’s fun, right? But here’s something interesting: did you know children playing less with screens can make you smarter and stronger?

That’s right! Scientists have recently found out that children who are two years old, that’s 24-month-olds (like your older brother or cousin), are smarter when they spend less than one and a half hours playing with screens. Plus, these little ones like to move around a lot too!

Brain-Boosting Playtime

• Now, moving your body, jumping, running, or even dancing is called “physical activity.” It’s when you use your muscles and get your energy out! So, our little children are not only having fun, but they’re also getting stronger and smarter! Isn’t that exciting?
• But what do we mean by “smarter”? Here, we’re talking about something called “executive function.” It sounds big, doesn’t it? But don’t worry, it’s just a fancy way of saying your superpower to remember things, make plans, pay attention, switch between different tasks, and control what you think and do. We all have these superpowers, but like a superhero, we need to train them!
• Now, this super important team called the American Academy of Pediatrics is interested in these superpowers in children, and they made a program especially for toddlers. They wanted to see if playing less with screens and moving more could make these superpowers stronger.
• You might ask, “How does this all work?” Well, our superpowers of executive function are like the control room in our brains. They help us remember things long enough to finish our coloring pages, stop us from eating all the cookies before dinner, and let us switch from playing with our cars to reading a story when mom says it’s bedtime.
• Now, hold on to your juice boxes, because here are some cool facts! Your superpowers can get stronger with the right amount of playtime, limited screen time, and yummy fruits and veggies. Scientists, with their detective hats on, have been watching how these things can affect what kids eat and how they grow from the time they’re born until they turn five years old!
• In this super cool study, parents filled out special papers about their kids and the scientists gathered all this information eight times over five years. That’s a long time, isn’t it? The parents helped the scientists by telling them how good their kids were at using their superpowers.
• The scientists then used a magic trick called “mathematical modeling” (fancy term for counting and sorting) to understand all the information. Guess what they found out? Kids who played less with screens were better at controlling their thoughts. Also, the kids who moved around more did better at remembering things.
• So, our friends, the doctors, say that it’s really important for us to play and move every day, eat five or more servings of fruits and veggies, and try not to drink too many sugary drinks. And now, we know it’s not just for our muscles, but for our superpower brains too! Isn’t that exciting? We think it’s time for us to go play outside and have a fruit snack!