Across homes everywhere today, a quiet shift has taken place. Where children once gathered to play traditional outdoor games or listen to elders tell stories, many now sit mesmerized by smartphones, tablets, and television screens. While technology offers educational benefits, health experts and researchers are sounding the alarm.
Children having fun and learning through outdoor games.
Excessive screen time is taking a heavy toll on children’s physical health, emotional wellbeing, and social development.
It is very common today to see young children holding expensive mobile phones for many hours. Many parents give their kids devices to keep them busy or quiet. However, doctors and scientists around the world say this habit is doing more harm than good.
Hours of screen time for kids affects them psychologically and emotionally.
Research shows that young children who spend too many hours on mobile phones often struggle with serious health and learning problems. Many of these children find it difficult to sleep at night because the light from the phone screen tricks their brains into staying awake. Other children develop severe eye problems and frequent headaches from staring at small screens for hours.
Mental health experts also warn that mobile phone addiction makes children feel lonely and anxious. Instead of talking and playing with their brothers, sisters, and friends, children are becoming isolated in a digital world. Studies show that kids who spend more than four hours a day on phones are much more likely to feel sad, angry, or worried compared to children who play outside.
Furthermore, screen addiction is making children forget their culture and traditional roots. Today, many young kids cannot speak their native languages or play classic local games that help build teamwork and quick thinking. They spend all their energy playing video games and watching videos made in other countries.
Child psychologists explain that taking away a child’s phone by force is not the only solution. If you take away a phone without giving the child something fun and practical to do, they will quickly become bored and frustrated. The best way to help children break free from screen addiction is to give them exciting, real life activities where they can run around, use their hands, make real friends, and learn new things in the physical world.
This urgent need to rescue children from screen addiction is the exact reason behind a special event taking place in Accra soon. Designed to pull children away from their screens and immerse them in fun, real life play, cultural storytelling, drumming, and traditional games, this year’s Kids Discovering Ghana event is scheduled for Saturday, August 8, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Games invented by and for kids of the motherland
To assure parents and guardians of the safety of their kids, event organizers said the venue has been upgraded and will be held at the Police Social Centre, Accra, with security personnel and medical support teams on standby. She said the decision was intended to provide a safe, family friendly environment for participants, giving parents complete peace of mind while their children enjoy a full day of screen free learning and fun.
