Dr Paramjit Mann, MD (Paediatrics), Child Specialist and Neonatologist, shares insights on the changing landscape of child health — from rising screen-time and mental health concerns to the importance of emotional connection, balanced routines and timely vaccinations.
What are the most common health concerns you are seeing in children today? How have these changed in recent years?
The pattern of children’s health concerns has shifted noticeably over the past two decades. Doctors are seeing more lifestyle-related physical conditions, along with a significant rise in mental and developmental issues. The most common concerns are:
Obesity and metabolic problems due to sedentary lifestyles and a high intake of processed and junk foods, which can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and fatty liver disease.
Mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and behavioural disorders.
Screen-related issues such as poor sleep, reduced physical activity, speech delays, social skill difficulties and learning problems.
What emerging health or developmental issues are you currently observing in children?
Several emerging paediatric trends are becoming increasingly visible globally across clinics, including screen-related developmental concerns, rising mental health issues, earlier-onset metabolic disease, sleep disruption, delayed puberty and social development and speech-related concerns such as delayed speech, reduced conversational interaction, attention difficulties and social communication delays due to decreased face-to-face interaction. Screen time alone does not cause all developmental delays, but the heavy replacement of human interaction has also emerged as a major contributing factor.
In the first five years of a child’s life, what key developmental milestones and warning signs should parents be aware of?
The first five years are a period of extremely rapid brain, language, motor and social development. Milestones are guides, not strict deadlines, but they help parents notice whether a child is broadly progressing as expected. The most important approach is to watch for steady forward progress and detect early if skills are delayed or lost. The five key developmental areas parents should track are:
Gross motor: rolling, walking, running and jumping
Fine motor: grasping, stacking, drawing
Language: understanding and speaking
Social and emotional: eye contact, play, attachment.
Cognitive: learning, imitation and problem-solving.
Red flags at any age include loss of previously acquired skills, no eye contact, no response to name, persistent toe walking, extreme rigidity and repetitive behaviour.
If a child is physically active but shows slow weight gain, what steps should they take?
A physically active child with slow weight gain may be completely healthy, or it may signal that their calorie intake, nutrient absorption, or an underlying medical issue needs attention. Doctors usually assess weight and height percentiles, growth curves, puberty timing, energy levels, school performance and overall development. A naturally lean child who is energetic, growing taller and meeting developmental milestones may simply have a high metabolism. Bottom line: if a child is active, energetic and growing well, they may simply be lean. But if weight gain is consistently slow or the child is dropping off the growth curve, they should be evaluated to monitor weight progression and rule out underlying medical causes.
How is increased screen time affecting children’s physical and mental health? What limits would you recommend?
Increased screen time is one of the biggest modern health concerns. Screens are not inherently bad, but excessive, too-early or unstructured use can affect sleep, physical activity, mental health, attention and social development. Excessive screen time can affect physical health through reduced physical activity, a higher risk of obesity, lower cardiovascular fitness and sleep disruption. Blue light can suppress melatonin production, while late-night gaming can overstimulate the brain. Poor sleep can further worsen mood, learning and immunity. Excessive screen use can also cause dry eyes, headaches, blurred vision, eye fatigue, neck pain, slouched shoulders and eye strain. Practical screen-time guidelines for children are:
Under 18 months: Avoid screens except for video calls.
18–24 months: Very limited high-quality content with parent participation.
2–5 years: Less than one hour daily of high-quality programming.
6 years and above: No single number fits all, but the focus should be on balance.
Children should get 8–12 hours of sleep and at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. Screens should not replace homework, exercise or family interaction.
What advice would you give parents to support their child’s mental and emotional well-being in today’s fast-changing environment?
Supporting a child’s mental and emotional well-being today is less about creating a perfect environment but more about building security, connection and healthy coping skills. The core goal is to help children feel safe, loved, heard, capable and connected. Children who consistently experience these foundations tend to cope better with stress, peer pressure, academic demands and change. Parents should prioritise emotional connection over perfection. Over scheduling can increase stress. A secure parent-child relationship is one of the strongest protective factors against anxiety, depression and behavioural struggles. A practical parenting mantra is: “Connect first, guide second, correct third.” Children thrive when they feel understood before they’re instructed.
