Mom of five fights tech addiction as study shows screens shrink children's brains
Yurich is the founder of "1000 Hours Outside", advocating for families to aim for their children to spend approximately the equivalent of about six full weeks outside each year.
Yurich said her work"is meant to bring back the balance between real life and virtual life, which is completely needed right now."
"The average kid in America is outside for four to seven minutes a day, but on screens for four to seven hours," Yurich said.
Her work began as a struggling mother with young children trying to make it through long days.
"A friend of mine told me about this woman named Charlotte Mason, who was actually from the 1800s, who said kids should be outside for four to six hours a day whenever the weather is tolerable, and it changed my life," Yurich recalled.
Everything changed from that point.
"We went outside one time in September of 2011, from 9 in the morning till 1 in the afternoon. And the amount of peace that I felt in relief and joy, it was astronomical," she said. "I never felt like that before. It was the best day I've ever had. It was [the] first good day I had as a mom."
Yurich spoke about the importance of children spending time outside on their overall development, saying it boosts everything from emotional regulation to physical strength, from mental cognition to spiritual growth.
Yurich advocates for a variety of activities for children away from screens besides the outdoors.
"Do what you can to do as much hands-on living as you can during the day," she said. "Have friends over, bake food, have these long play dates that extend for all the meals. Go out in your neighborhood, go on a hike, get out all of the water toys, get out the hose, and you do all these things that kids love. And then what happens is, when the day closes, you've run out of time for screens."
Yurich added that kids need more time outside now "more than ever."
"At some point in our society, screen time was limited automatically. The screens turned off, the cartoons were over at noon on a Saturday, and so it's tricky because now the parent has to be the one that is in charge of that. The teacher has to be in charge of that, but it really is worthwhile," she observed.
According to her website 1000hoursoutside.com, Yurich said she hopes families are inspired to match and hopefully surpass time on screens with time outdoors.
Yurich also hosts "The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast" and is author of the book, "Homeschooling: You're Doing It Right Just By Doing it."
In June, The Daily Mail shared a study that indicates more screen time among children results in smaller brains and lower intelligence.
In the article, a study was done obtaining information from children regarding IQ, screen time and physical exercise using databases from across Europe.
The researchers based in China discovered that from the research, excessive screen time has a negative impact on a child's brain development.
'These findings highlight the critical need to manage and regulate children's media use while also promoting increased physical activity,' they wrote in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
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