Greater screen time linked to behavioural issues in toddlers
Charlotte Thomas
Social EditorPreschoolers who have more than one hour’s screen time a day have an increased risk of developing social and behavioural issues says study.
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A new study has warned that toddlers who spend more than an hour a day watching programmes on devices including tablets, phones and TVs are at greater risk of behavioural and emotional issues.
These issues include trouble socialising and making friends, hyperactivity disorder, poor concentration and a short attention span.
The study suggests this increase in issues could be because children who have a lot of screen time spend less time reading, playing and interacting with their family and other kids.
The study was conducted in Finland where researchers looked at the development, health and mental wellbeing of 699 children from birth to the age five.
The team found that at 18 months, toddlers spent an average of 32 minutes a day on an electronic media device.
Toddlers who had greater screen time – of more than an hour – were 59% more likely to have problems making friends and connecting with others socially by the age of five.
At the age of five, the kids surveyed spent just under two hours a day watching programmes and playing games.
Greater screen time in five-year-olds was found to increase the risk of attention and concentration difficulties, hyperactivity and impulsivity, and other emotional and behavioural issues.
Watching programmes seemed to be associated with more behavioural issues than playing electronic games. Researchers found gaming was only linked to hyperactivity.
Experts recommend that preschool children have no more than 60 minutes of screen time a day but the study found many kids were spending longer on devices.
Lead researcher Janette Niiranen of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki said:
'Our results show that 5-year-old children spend considerably more time on e-media than is recommended by professionals.
'High levels of e-media use, especially programme viewing, are associated with problems with psychosocial outcomes, while use of electronic games was only associated with hyperactivity in the crude models.
'Although children's e-media use patterns might not seem problematic when considering use on a daily level, they do have risks in the long term.’
Researchers said because the study is based on observation, more research is needed to establish a causal link.
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