Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is urging children to step away from their screens to better learn how to handle life’s challenges, he shared with The Post.
This message was underscored during his visit to the Midwest, where he stood alongside Iowa’s Republican Governor, Kim Reynolds, as she enacted the newest “Make America Healthy Again” legislation.
“What really surprised me is that 6-year-olds are spending around two and a half hours daily on screens, while teenagers are clocking in at 8.5 hours,” Kennedy noted during his visit to an elementary school in Gilbert, Iowa. “That’s more time than they actually spend sleeping.”
According to Kennedy, teenagers are losing out on crucial life experiences, such as resolving conflicts, engaging in lunchtime conversations, and playful banter.
“They lack the skills to navigate conflicts, so their response is often just to complain about cyberbullying,” remarked Kennedy, who fondly recalls his time as a school pull-up champion, a distinction earned through a fitness initiative championed by his uncle, President John F. Kennedy.
As someone who has overcome addiction, Kennedy also highlighted the dangers of addictive behaviors, particularly those associated with screen time and online activities.
“My experience, which is pretty abundant, I think — addictive behavior feeds on their addictive behavior.”
The “impulse to reach for something outside of yourself and to solve something that’s going on inside of yourself, probably is not something that should be reinforced when you’re young,” he added.
A new Surgeon General’s advisory report has called for childhood screentime to be limited to one hour a day total in school.
The report, issued Wednesday and researched before President Trump’s surgeon general nomination imploded, says schools can put in bell-to-bell restrictions on phone use and calls for “age appropriate” screen limits for kids.
When he was in Iowa two years ago, RFK was fighting to get his name on the ballot running for president as an independent. He ended up getting 13,000 votes even after ending his campaign.
He insists that getting back to the top campaign stomping ground didn’t rekindle his hopes to run for office.
“I think I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m going to do this job,” he said.
