Children’s screen time has received a bad rap for a variety of reasons, including an increased risk for attention and mental health issues as well as unhealthy weight gain.
Children’s screen time has received a bad rap for a variety of reasons (Photo: dailymail)
The Risk of Children’s Screen Time
In a recently published article by Fatherly, a recent study reveals that increased children’s screen time at age 1 is associated with a higher risk of specific developmental problems years later, which is another reason why parents should be cautious about letting young kids become iPad babies.
According to the study, which was published in JAMA Pediatrics, children who were exposed to more screen time at age 1 were more likely to experience developmental delays in communication at age 2. For kids who spent four or more hours per day on screens at age 1 compared to children who spent less than one hour, the odds of having a communication-related developmental delay at age two were staggeringly 4.78 times higher. Children who just spent one to two hours each day in front of a screen were also more likely to experience communication development delays.
Over four hours of children’s screen time per day at age one increased the risk of developmental delays in problem-solving, fine motor abilities, and the ability to manipulate items with their hands in two-year-olds. Children who spent two to four hours a day in front of a screen experienced a developmental delay in problem-solving.
By the time those children reached the age of four, children’s screen time exposure at age one was still associated with a small risk of developmental delay. Specifically, for 4-year-olds who had more than two hours of screen time at age 1, there was still a risk of communication developmental delay, and for those who had four or more hours of screen time each day, there was a risk of problem-solving developmental delay.
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Do These Developmental Delays Cause by Children’s Screen Time Actually Have An Impact On A Child’s Growth Over The Long Term?
According to the study, it’s not apparent whether those delays caused by children’s screen time continue after the age of 4 or if they are a problem that will impact your children’s education or later in life.
It’s also critical to remember that many developmental delays are exaggerated. “We don’t become concerned unless a child falls outside the range when 95% of children should be doing that particular skill, whether it’s saying first words, crawling, or standing,” Susan Buttross, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Mississippi
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