Practical screen-time tips

UAE doctors are telling parents to cut children’s screen time by rebuilding the hours after school around movement, sleep and face-to-face play. (gulfnews.com) In an April 22, 2026 report, Gulf News quoted Dr. Sameh Ali of Medcare Shaikh Saqr Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah urging families to structure afternoons with outdoor play, cycling, swimming, football, dance or a family walk. (gulfnews.com) Dr. Kejal Merani of Aster Clinic said the goal is not to treat screens as “the enemy” but to replace them with activities children actually want to do, including drawing, puzzles, reading, baking, music, board games and gardening. (gulfnews.com) Ali said even one or two screen-free hours each evening can improve mood, sleep and development, and he paired that advice with basics that families can control at home: enough sleep, water, fruit and vegetables, and daily physical activity. (gulfnews.com) The same guidance tied screen reduction to school-illness prevention as UAE students return to classrooms, with doctors pointing to changing temperatures, dust, humidity and close contact among classmates as conditions that can increase vulnerability to infections and allergies. (gulfnews.com) For schools, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says common respiratory and stomach viruses spread less when families and staff reinforce everyday actions, including handwashing, cough etiquette and staying home when sick. (cdc.gov) Ali’s advice tracks that public-health playbook: children should wash hands with soap and water, avoid touching their face, cover coughs and sneezes, and not share food, bottles or other personal items. He also said unwell children should stay home until they are feeling better and fever-free. (gulfnews.com) The screen-time piece is broader than one country’s school routine. The American Academy of Pediatrics said in a 2024 Family Media Plan update that media use can delay bedtime, disrupt melatonin through screen light exposure and crowd out physical activity, while also serving useful roles for learning and support. (publications.aap.org) That is why the academy no longer treats one universal screen limit as the whole answer; it recommends a family plan that sets device rules around sleep, school, movement and shared time, then adjusts those rules to a household’s actual schedule and stress level. (publications.aap.org; healthychildren.org) The practical version for parents is simple and old-fashioned: protect a few hours after school, fill them with something concrete, and make the same routine do double duty for sleep, activity and fewer germs. (gulfnews.com; cdc.gov)