Three out of four parents rely on outdated advice on how to treat a child’s concussion, potentially making matters worse. That’s the upshot of a new survey commissioned by the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

The pollsters asked 569 parents how they’d respond if a child’s concussion symptoms last for more than a week. What they found is that a majority of parents said they would do things that could actually hinder recovery from a serious head injury.

Among the findings:

• 77 percent said they would wake their child throughout the night to check on symptoms.
• 84 percent would restrict any physical activity the week after a concussion.
• More than half said they would limit screen-time on electronics.

“This survey really illustrates just how far the pendulum has swung in terms of caring for children with concussions,” said Dr. Christopher Giza, a UCLA pediatric neurologist.

“In the past, there was often a tendency to downplay the significance of concussions, now some parents go too far the other direction and despite their best intentions, they can inadvertently complicate their child’s recovery.”

Experts at UCLA recommend children who have suffered a concusion remain active, social, and get lots of sleep. They note:

• Aerobic exercise is actually good for children recovering from a concussion.
• Easing them back into their social circles quickly is healthy, and that might mean being a little more permissive when it comes to social media and screen time.
• Waking a sleeping child may do more harm than good. Although many parents have been told that letting a child to go to sleep with a concussion can lead to brain swelling, if you’re still waking a child up throughout the night more than a week after their injury, you could be hindering his or her recovery.

Giza says the idea is to give them that initial rest and certainly protect them from contact risk, but then start easing them back into cognitive, physical and social activity.