Video Games and TV are really guilty for attention and focus problems in kids. This has been proven by a recent study at the Iowa State University. The study was published in the July 2010 issue of the journal Pediatrics and says that children who spend too much time playing video games and watching tv are more prone to focus and concentration problems. According to the study by Iowa State University, kids who spend more than 2 hours of using a screen per day are twice more likely to experience attention problems as they grow up.

Studying two groups of students over 13-months, a group of 1323 4th to 6th graders and a group of 210 college undergraduates, psychologists at Iowa State University and the National Institute of Media and the Family report that video games contribute as much as television viewing to an increase in attention problems in school. The scientists noticed that those students who spent more than 2 hours per day continuously playing video games or even watching tv, were more subjected to attention problems in class. What was most surprising to the scientists was the fact that the difficulties were as strong among the older children as they were among the younger ones. That suggests that regardless of when television viewing or video game playing exerts its strongest effect on attention, the influence is long lasting.

The Iowa State University study recommends only two hours of daily screen time per day. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society recommend parents limit a child's screen time to one or two hours daily also. The issue is with all the technology we own in our daily lives is the problem. The average child in the U.S. and likely in Canada, spends many more hours per day with screen-based technology.

For more information on the study at Iowa State University, click here.