DETROIT – As bitter cold temperatures invade Metro Detroit, children who don't have school break out the iPads, video games and movies.
But a new study found children between 2 and 5 years old should only have one hour of screen time per day.
Nowadays, watching movies also means playing games on tablets and scrolling through interactive sites on phones. That all adds up to an overload of screen time.
That can be dangerous for a child's development, according to a new study.
"Early exposure to excessive screen time at 24 months was predictive of lower developmental outcomes at 36 months," said Dr. Skyler Kalady, of the Cleveland Clinic. "Similarly, increased screen time exposure at 36 months also was related to decreased developmental outcomes at 60 months."
Experts said parents should keep those statistics in mind while children are stuck in the house for most of the week due to dangerous winter weather.
Kalady said sometimes the trick for parents is getting back to the basics.
"Truly, just sitting down with your child and chasing them around and letting them explore their environment, even if it's a little bit exhausting and frustrating," Kalady said. "Or reading a book or going back to old school and using blocks and things. That really is how children explore, get curious and learn the best."