Educational apps are those that help toddlers learn these things in active, engaging, meaningful and socially interactive ways (Hirsh-Pasek et al, 2015).īabies and toddlers learn when adults interact with them alongside screen time (Brown, 2011 AAP, 2016).
They also aim to promote problem solving, visual thinking and imagination.
High quality TV programmes and apps aim to help toddlers with their language development, shape and colour recognition, numeracy and literacy. Although a more recent review found that evidence for this was weak (Stiglic, 2019).
Some research in younger children (one to three year olds) who watched TV showed increased levels of attention deficit disorders at the age of seven (Christakis, 2004). But another large study found that any negative effects of screens on wellbeing were so small that they could not make recommendations about screen use (Orben and Przybylski, 2019). One study found that as a child’s daily screen time increased, children reported lower levels of self-worth and self-esteem, and more anxiety and depression (Public Health England, 2013 Stiglic, 2019). It’s not just physical health that might be affected by too much screen time. We have to be careful though not to assume that it’s necessarily screen use that is causing worse sleep because it’s only a correlation that was found. This in turn might affect health and cognitive development (Carter et al, 2016).Īnother study with six- to 36-month-old children found that as time spent using touchscreens increased, there was a decrease in the amount of sleep children were also taking longer to go to sleep (Cheung et al, 2017). Several studies have reported strong and consistent evidence that longer screen use during the day is associated with worse sleep. One of the more well established health impacts of screen time is on sleep. For example, one study found that children who used screens for more than two hours a day were more likely to have high blood pressure (de Moraes et al, 2014). Increased screen time is linked to many health issues, like obesity and diabetes, as it encourages a more sedentary lifestyle (Robinson, 19 Stiglic and Viner, 2019). They argue that they’re not all based on strong evidence (RCPCH, 2019). The UK’s Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) criticised the American guidelines. They say screen time should involve educationally appropriate content that children watch with a parent (AAP, 2016). And for two- to five-year-old children, one hour a day. For toddlers aged 18 to 24 months, they suggest a limited amount of screen time. Interestingly, American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend a zero screen time rule (except for video calls) for children under 18 months (AAP, 2016). The UK’s Chief Medical Officer suggests a ‘precautionary approach’ balanced against the potential benefits of using screen devices (Davies et al, 2019). But they do recommend an upper limit of two hours per day for all children (NHS, 2017). In the UK, neither the NHS nor the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) have any detailed guidance for screen time among babies and toddlers yet. So it is an important topic for parents and early-years practitioners to be mindful of (Hesketh et al, 2012 BPS, 2017). Yet it’s becoming more clear that children establish their activity and screen time habits early on. That’s because newer technologies like tablets, smartphones and apps create different demands on the developing mind than television. The difficulty is that what constitutes ‘screen time’ is constantly changing. This mixed evidence base has led to unclear and contradictory recommendations around screen time for children. But the evidence is far from conclusive and more research into the effects of screen time on children is needed (Stiglic, 2019). What is known about the effects of screen time?ĭecades of research on screen time has revealed associations with both positive and negative developmental outcomes (see below). We weigh up the advantages and disadvantages, and talk to parents about their choices. Yet screen time for little ones can be a divisive topic, with parents often having strong opinions on it. Most of us have a lot of technology in our homes –smartphones, tablets, TVs, laptops and games consoles to name a few.