University of Wollongong early childhood expert Professor Tony Okely has led the project to update the ‘Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (Birth to Five Years): An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Time and Sleep’.

The new guidelines, officially launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday, differs from the previous guidelines in covering the entire day, including recommendations on how to help children get good quality sleep.

Professor Okely said the decision to include sleep recognised its importance in optimising health, development and learning.

‘’Sleep plays an essential role in a child’s growth and development and shares an interrelated relationship with physical activity,’’ he said.

‘’If a child receives good quality sleep, they will have the energy to be active, and an active child is a well-rested child.

‘’These Guidelines also acknowledge that the whole day matters and individual movement behaviours, such as physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep need to be considered in relation to each other when examining their associations with health and developmental outcomes in children.’’

UOW’s Early Start director of research added with the proliferation of hand-held technologies such as iPads and smart phone applications for children aged 0-5 years, the guidelines recommend no sedentary screen time for children under two, and no more than one hour for those older than two.

‘’Screen time while sitting can counteract the health benefits of physical activity, leading to language delays, reduced attention, lower levels of school readiness and poorer decision-making,’’ Prof Okely said.

‘’The revised Guidelines incorporate the effects of screen time on a child’s growth and development and provide recommendations to parents or carers in how to mitigate these effects through an emphasis on increasing movement, and limiting sedentary behaviour and use of screens.’’

The guidelines recommend that all screen use at these ages be educational.