Things a pediatrician would never let their child do

As summer begins for most children around Canada, CTV News spoke with a number of pediatric health professionals about the best practices for raising kids, and how the profession has evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic.

With more distractions than ever for children and a growing number of youth-related health concerns, raising kids can be a daunting task in 2024.

As summer vacation begins for children around Canada, CTVNews.ca spoke with a number of pediatric health professionals to see what they recommend when it comes to children, and how the profession has evolved through the 21st century.

Here are a few tips from pediatricians on the dos and don'ts when it comes to raising kids.

A constant theme that came up during the interviews was the amount of screen time kids experience in today's world, and how difficult it is to balance between being active and looking at an iPad.

Sam Wong, the medical director for the Canadian Paediatric Society, says in his 20-plus years of working in children's health, the increase in screen time has created a whole new set of challenges for both parents and the medical professionals looking after them, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Since we had to use screens so much during the pandemic, kids have gotten so used to using them that when parents ask them to turn off the screens, they have become extremely angry," Wong said. "Temper tantrums and screaming matches and fights with kids about turning off the screen that last hours."