Should Pediatricians Advocate Banning All Screens From Bedrooms?

Saturday, May 4, 2024

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre: 205

CE: Live CME: 1.5

Selected By: AACAP
Co-sponsored By: ISCHE

Chair(s)

Paul Weigle, MD (he/him/his)

Associate Medical Director
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Mystic, Connecticut, United States

Slides

Disclosure(s):

Paul E. Weigle, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Session

Description: Healthy sleep is crucial for the well-being of children and adolescents. The presence of screen media devices in children's bedrooms has quickly become the norm, but may be a controllable, reversible cause of the many problems associated with inadequate sleep. Pediatricians are in a crucial position to advocate for healthy screen media & sleep habits. However, many pediatricians do not recommend removing screen media from the bedrooms of youth, in order to promote autonomy, safety, and socialization. An Oxford-style debate will attempt to answer the critical question "Should Pediatricians Advocate Banning All Screens From Bedrooms?" After the chair introduces the format and question, the audience will be asked to vote for or against the proposition. Each 2-person debate team will deliver opening arguments, followed by a rebuttal round. The audience will then be invited to ask questions to any of the presenters to clarify their arguments. Each team will then give closing arguments. The audience will be asked again to vote for or against the proposition. Whichever team moves more audience members to their perspective (when compared with the opening vote) will be declared the winner. Regardless of which side wins , participants will benefit from a variety of informed perspectives regarding how best to support health sleep and screen habits in youth. The debate will serve to help clarify critical issues and move the clinical conversation forward to the betterment of our field. Takeaways for clinical practice will be reviewed.

Learning Objectives:

Describe arguments in favor of banning screen media from the bedrooms of youth, citing evidence that it disrupts sleep and exacerbates mental health conditions.
Identify arguments against banning screen media from bedrooms of youth, including respecting the needs of at-risk families, understanding benefits to socialization, fostering autonomy in adolescents.
Synthesize a thought-provoking, balanced discussion by clinicians and thought leaders focused on a vital, contemporary topic facing the field of pediatrics.

Presentations:

2:00 PM – 2:10 PM ET

Introduction
Speaker: Paul E. Weigle, MD (he/him/his) – University of Connecticut School of Medicine
2:10 PM – 2:25 PM ET

Pediatricians Should Advocate Banning All Screens From Bedrooms
Speaker: Lauren Hale, PhD (she/her/hers) – Stony Brook University
2:25 PM – 2:40 PM ET

Pediatricians Should Not Advocate Banning All Screens From Bedrooms
Speaker: Argelinda Baroni, MD (she/her/hers) – Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone
2:40 PM – 2:55 PM ET

Pediatricians Should Not Advocate Banning All Screens From Bedrooms (Debater #2)
Speaker: Dale A. Peeples, MD (he/him/his) – Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
2:55 PM – 3:10 PM ET

Pediatricians Should Advocate Banning All Screens From Bedrooms (Debater #2)
Speaker: Stacey Belanger, MD, PhD neurological sciences (she/her/hers) – CHU Sainte Justine
3:10 PM – 3:30 PM ET

Closing Remarks
Speaker: Paul E. Weigle, MD (he/him/his) – University of Connecticut School of Medicine