March 4, 2024

expert reaction to study looking at screen time and parent-child talk when children are ages 12 to 36 Months

A study published in JAMA Paediatrics looks at screen time and parent-child talk. 

Dr Marina Bazhydai, Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, Lancaster University, said:

“The present study has several notable strengths: it measured a relatively large and diverse sample at multiple time points longitudinally and focused on objective measures of conceptually sound outcome variables which are well informed by prior literature.  It also accounted for several crucial confounders.  Methodological and statistical approaches are appropriate, and the study closes an important research gap in the emerging literature on technoference in infancy and early years.

“Along with these strengths, the methodological choices also have potential limitations.  For example, other interferences to the normal flow of child-caregiver communicative exchange, besides technoference, and the quality and content of screen time children were exposed to were not captured here.  In future research, it would be interesting to compare the effect of technoference with the effects of non-technological interference on parent-child talk outcomes to further delineate its impact.  It is important to keep in mind that while the frequency of adult words, child vocalisations and conversational turns have each been shown to improve language outcomes, the quality of such communicative interactions is also crucial.  Furthermore, the quality of screen exposure – the content of which was not captured in this study – might also play a role, potentially serving as a protective factor.  It could be that less communicative contact with the caregiver is not as detrimental if the screen time is of high quality and developmentally appropriate, educational content.  Future research should include such quality measures along with quantity measures of both predictors and outcomes.  Finally, following up with the cohort at later stages of development would help clarify if the identified negative links persist into later childhood and impact cognitive and social outcomes.”

‘Screen Time and Parent-Child Talk When Children Are Aged 12 to 36 Months’ by Mary E. Brushe et al. was published in JAMA Pediatrics at 16:00 UK time on Monday 4 March 2024.

DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.6790

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2815514

Declared interests

Dr Marina Bazhydai: “I declare no conflict of interest.”