2023-09-26 07:33:26
Nowadays, who might still do without using smartphones, tablets and other computers? Whether for professional or personal use, these different screens greatly facilitate our daily lives. And our children have understood this well since they are the first to know how to use them! However, these treasures of innovation are not so trivial for the health of our toddlers. This is suggested by a recent Japanese study which details the effects of early exposure to screens on children’s development.. We take stock.
Supervising the use of screens: an absolute necessity
According to the High Council of Public Health, it is essential to respect certain basic rules regarding the use of screens by children:
- No screen before 3 years.
- No 3D screen before 5 years.
- No screens during meals or before bed.
- No screens in the child’s bedroom.
From 3 years old, it is imperative that parents control their child’s use of screens by setting a specific usage time not to exceed and monitoring the content he views. They must also ensure that the time spent on screens does not interfere with other activities such as sports or artistic activities. The role of parents is fundamental here: they are the ones who must show their child the right behavior to adopt by not being absorbed by screens themselves in the presence of their children.
The stakes are high and involve a real health issue. It must be said that the scientific literature is full of studies on the supposed effects of screen use on the body. But what really is the impact of early exposure to screens on children’s development? This is what Japanese scientists sought to find out through a new study.
What regarding the impact on children’s health of early exposure to screens?
To carry out this study, Japanese scientists relied on data from a cohort of 7,097 mother-child pairs collected between July 2013 and March 2017. Among the children participating in this study, at the age of one year:
- 48.5% were exposed to less than an hour of screen time per day.
- 29.5% were exposed to 1 to 2 hours of screen time per day.
- 17.9% were exposed to 2 to 4 hours of screen time per day.
- 4.1% were exposed to 4 or more hours of screen time per day.
These children’s skills were then measured at ages 2 and 4 in five different areas:
- Communication
- Gross motor skills
- Fine motor skills
- Problems solving
- Personal and social skills.
Scientists were thus able to observe a link between the time spent in front of a screen at the age of one and the risk of developmental delay at the age of 2 with :
- Delayed language development for 5.1% of children.
- Delay in motor development for 5.6% of children.
- Motor and fine motor skills disorder in 4.6% of children.
- Delay in the development of problem-solving skills in 4.2% of children.
- Delay in the development of personal and social skills in 5.5% of children.
Furthermore, this study reveals that compared to children with daily screen time of less than one hour, children in the cohort were at risk of developmental delay:
- Increased by 61% for those exposed between one and 2 hours of screen time each day.
- Multiplied by more than two for those exposed between 2 and 4 hours of screen time per day.
- Multiplied by 4.78 beyond 4 hours of exposure per day.
A marked impact of screens on communication and problem-solving skills
Published in JAMA Pediatrics, The results of this study highlight a dose-response association between longer screen time at age 1 and delays in the development of communication and problem-solving skills in children at age 2 years and 4 years. This observation is particularly true when exposure to screens exceeds 4 hours of screen time per day.
On the other hand, such associations might not be observed in the domain of personal and social skills at the age of 4 years. For the authors of this study, it therefore seems wise to do further research. The idea would be to analyze the effects of time spent in front of screens on children by distinguishing between different areas of development. To be continued!
Déborah L., Doctor in Pharmacy
Sources
– Early exposure to screens: developmental delays in communication and problem solving, but not in motor skills. www.lequotidiendumedecin.fr. Accessed August 31, 2023.
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#Exposure #childrens #screens #limits
