Study links high levels of screen time to slower child development

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/28/study-links-high-levels-of-screen-time-to-slower-child-development

Study links high levels of screen time to slower child development

Nicola Davis
Mon 28 Jan 2019 16.00 GMT

A study has linked high levels of screen time with delayed development in children, reigniting the row over the extent to which parents should limit how long their offspring spend with electronic devices. Researchers in Canada say children who spent more time with screens at two years of age did worse on tests of development at age three than children who had spent little time with devices. A similar result was found when children’s screen time at three years old was compared with their development at five years.
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The authors say parents should be cautious about how long children are allowed to spend with devices. “Excessive screen time can impinge on children’s ability to develop optimally,” they write. “It is recommended that paediatricians and healthcare practitioners guide parents on appropriate amounts of screen exposure and discuss potential consequences of excessive screen use.”

But the results have been contested by others in the field who say the study did not take into account what the children were using the screens for, and that the influence of screens had a smaller effect than other factors such as family income, the child’s sleep and whether they were read to.
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At two years, three years, and five years, mothers were asked to record how much time their child spent using screens, including time in front of the TV, computer or other devices. They also completed standard questionnaires to assess their child’s development, with questions including whether the child could complete tasks such as drawing particular shapes, copying certain behaviours or forming sentences – tasks covering areas from fine motor control to communication skills. Other aspects of the child’s life, such as their sleep and whether they had books read to them, were also considered.
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