Parents should limit their young children’s use of mobile devices, new research has suggested.
Experts from the University of California, Davis conducted a study for two-and-a-half years in which they assessed 56 children aged 32 to 47 months and surveyed their parents. They also looked into the children’s self-regulation skills, which help them plan, control or monitor their thoughts, feelings or behaviours.
The team discovered self-regulation skills were lower among children who began using any screen media devices earlier in life and who currently used mobile devices more frequently than other participants
“Young children are often exposed to substantial amounts of screen media. Even though consumption of moderate amounts of high-quality children’s media has been established to have a positive influence on development, the current findings support limiting children’s use of mobile devices,” said the study’s primary author, Amanda C. Lawrence.
In addition to limiting use, the author also suggested that parents should delay introducing their children to screen media in the first place, noting that using mobile devices “could interfere with sensitive and responsive interactions with parents or practicing self-soothing behaviours that support optimal development.”
Lawrence and her team also found that children’s exposure to traditional screen devices, such as televisions and computers, in the average week was not related to their self-regulation.
The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, is small but forms the beginning of a bigger longitudinal investigation involving a longer time period as well as more children and parents.
