How screen time can influence growing bodies.

October is known as Children's Health Month, making it a great opportunity to reflect on the initial habits that support healthy growth and development. Even though screens have become a part of everyday life in the modern day, spending too much time sitting can reduce opportunities for children to move, play and develop vital physical skills. Encouraging regular physical activity is one of the simplest ways to support a child's health now and into their future.

Why Does Physical Activity Matter?

Physical activity plays an essential role in healthy growth and development. Most bone density is built in childhood and adolescence, and this window does not reopen later in life. Because of this, bone strength a child builds now has a lasting effect on their skeletal health as an adult. Beyond bones, consistent movement strengthens muscles and joints, improves balance and coordination, supports cardiovascular health and contributes to better mental wellbeing. Physically active play also helps children develop confidence, social skills and future healthy habits.

What Does the WHO Recommend?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that children and adolescents ages 5 to 17 accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each day. The WHO also recommends restricting sedentary screen time for recreational purposes where possible, because replacing sitting with movement provides greater health benefits.

How Can Too Much Screen Time Affect Your Musculoskeletal Health?

Prolonged sessions of sitting may contribute to:

• Decreased fitness

• Reduced muscle strength and endurance

• Poor posture and slouching habits

• Decreased flexibility and mobility of joints

• Increased probability of neck, shoulder and back discomfort

Although screen use itself isn't a harmful thing, balancing it with regular movement is essential for supporting healthy musculoskeletal development, especially in children.

5 Ways to Encourage Kids to be More Active:

1. Break up long periods of screen time with a 5-minute movement reset. Every 30-60 minutes, have your child stand up and move. Short, frequent breaks like this directly counter the postural strain and stiffness that builds up from sustained sitting, which is more effective than one long activity block at the end of the day.

2. Turn homework breaks into ‘movement breaks’, not snack or screen breaks. Instead of incorporating a break that swaps one form of sitting for another, use it for something active: a quick game of catch, jumping on the trampoline, or a few minutes of using a skipping rope. This stops you needing to carve out time in the day for extra movement.

3. Make the walk or ride to school the default, if possible. Even two or three days a week adds meaningful daily movement without needing to be scheduled as exercise. If distance is an issue, park 5-10 minutes away and walk the rest.

4. Set a ‘screens after outside time’ rule rather than a strict time limit - instead of capping screen minutes (which kids often push back against), make outdoor or active play the thing that happens first, so that movement isn’t competing with screens for the same window of time.

5. Choose activities with a social or family element over solo screen time - Backyard cricket or a walk with the dog after dinner helps give kids an enjoyable reason to move, rather than making the physical activity feel like an obligation.