All 4 Graded Readings
Screen time before bed is bad for children
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Screen Time - Level 0
Watching TV, tablet or mobile phone screens before bedtime is bad for children's health. Researchers looked at studies on this. Ninety per cent of the studies found that screen time means children go to bed later. They have less sleep, and poorer quality sleep. Screens are small, so children look at them in bed.
Children need more sleep than adults. Pre-school children need up to 13 hours a night. There are three reasons why screens are bad. First, the light from screens makes children think it is daytime. Second, videos keep children's brains active, so they cannot sleep. Finally, children do not exercise, so they are not tired.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Screen Time - Level 1
Children should not watch TV, tablet or mobile phone screens before bedtime. Researchers found "screen time" before sleeping is bad for children's health. The researchers looked at studies on how bad screen time is for children. They said that 90 per cent of the studies found that screen time delays bedtime. It also leads to less sleep, and poorer sleep quality. Screens are small, so children look at them in bed. Most children have a screen in their bedroom.
Children need more sleep than adults. Pre-school children need up to 13 hours, pre-teens up to 12 hours, and teenagers up to ten hours a night. There are three reasons why screens affect children's sleep. First, the light from screens upsets a child's body clock. It makes children think it is daytime. Second, videos excite children and keep their brain active, so they take longer to sleep. Finally, children are not exercising, so they are not tired.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Screen Time - Level 2
Slowest
New research shows children should not watch TV, tablet or mobile phone screens before bedtime. Researchers found that "screen time" before sleeping is bad for children's health. The researchers looked at over 60 different studies on how bad screen time is for children aged from 5 to 17. They said that 90 per cent of the studies found that screen time delays bedtime. It also leads to fewer hours of sleep, and poorer sleep quality. Screens are becoming smaller, so children can look at them in bed. Most children in the study had some kind of screen in their bedroom.
Children need more sleep than adults. Pre-school children need up to 13 hours, pre-teens up to 12 hours, and teenagers should get around nine hours a night. The researchers found three reasons why screens affected children's sleep. First, the light from screens upsets a child's body clock. It gets into children's eyes before they sleep, and makes children think it is daytime. Second, children watch videos of things that excite them. This keeps their brain active, so they take longer to sleep. Finally, when children are watching screens, they are not exercising, so they are not tired.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Screen Time - Level 3
New research shows that it is bad for children to watch TV, tablet or mobile phone screens before bedtime. Researchers from the University of Colorado found that "screen time" before sleeping damages children's health. The researchers looked at over 60 different studies on how screen time affects children. They said: "Of more than five dozen studies looking at children aged from 5 to 17 around the world, 90 per cent have found that more screen time is associated with delayed bedtime, fewer hours of sleep, and poorer sleep quality." Screens are becoming smaller and smaller, so children can look at them in bed. More than 75 per cent of children in the study had some kind of screen in their bedroom.
Children need a lot more sleep than adults. Pre-school children need 10 to 13 hours, pre-teens should get between nine and 12 hours, and teenagers should be getting between eight and 10 hours a night. The researchers highlighted three main reasons how screens affect children's sleep. First, the light from screens upsets a child's body clock. The light from screens getting into children's eyes before they sleep tricks their body into thinking it is still daytime. Second, children often watch videos of things that excite them or interest them. This keeps their brain active, so they take longer to sleep. Finally, when children are watching screens, they are not exercising. Children need physical activity to make them tired.
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25 online activities | 27-page printable | 2-page mini-lesson
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