Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Allowing your child some screen time helps you get through a busy day…but is it okay to give your child screen time? And how much is too much?
What does the research say?
- Increased screen time was associated with lower receptive and expressive language abilities (Hill et al., 2020).
- It can affect other areas such as behaviour, sleep, school readiness and delayed achievement of developmental milestones (Madigan et al., 2020).
- In one study, they found a strong correlation between media consumption and language development. The more videos the toddler watched, the less words they knew or said (Zimmerman et al., 2007)
What is recommended?
The Australian Institute of Family Studies recommends:
- No screen time for children younger than 2 years.
- No more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2-5 years.
- No more than 2 hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day for children and young people aged 5-17 years (not including schoolwork).
“For children younger than five years, there is strong evidence to show that screen time has negative effects on weight, motor and cognitive development and social and psychological well-being.” (AIFS, 2022).
What should I do?
A child’s first years of life are crucial to language development. The brain is the most receptive to language learning. When a child grows older, it becomes more difficult for their brain to develop new language skills.
Ultimately, it is best to engage in face-to-face interactions with your child to support their language development. Here are some activities you can do with your child:
- Sing songs or nursery rhymes.
- Read a book.
- Go for a walk.
- Take your child to the park.
- Ride bikes.
- Cook together.
- Play in the backyard.
- Paint a picture
But if you need to give them some screen time you should…
- Watch the videos with your child.
- Engage in conversation about what is happening on the screen, similar to how you would talk about the pictures of a book. You can label what your child sees (e.g. “It’s an apple”) or ask questions (e.g. “Where is the duck?”).
- Connect what your child sees on the screen with their own real-life experiences.
- Choose educational games or programmes that are at their communication level.
- Turn off screens during family outings, during mealtime and 60 minutes before bedtime.
- Have your child earn screen time and use it as a reward
Are you concerned with your child’s language development? Call us on 02 8065 1197
References
Madigan, S., McArthur, B. A., Anhorn, C., Eirich, R., & Christakis, D. A. (2020). Associations between screen use and child language skills: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA pediatrics, 174(7), 665-675.
Hill, M. M., Gangi, D., Miller, M., Rafi, S. M., & Ozonoff, S. (2020). Screen time in 36-month-olds at increased likelihood for ASD and ADHD. Infant Behavior and Development, 61, 101484.
Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2007). Associations between media viewing and language development in children under age 2 years. The Journal of pediatrics, 151(4), 364–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.04.071