Many parents looking for a brief break from their infants have found relief by turning on nursery rhymes or cartoons.
However, a study reveals that allowing infants to see content on TV, iPads, and phones may cause them to talk and develop more slowly.
According to studies, children who spent the most time on screens throughout their first year of life saw the worst developmental deficits.
The data shows that during the Covid outbreak, when lockdowns and school closings forced kids to stay inside, screen time among kids skyrocketed.
Between 2013 and 2017, researchers from Tohoku University in Japan evaluated 7,000 infants, nearly half of whom were boys and half of whom were girls.
They discovered that roughly half of people (48.5%) watched screens for less than an hour, 29.5% watched screens for between one and two hours, 17.9% watched screens for between two and four hours, and 4.1 percent watched screens for more than four hours every day.
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Too Much Screen Time Can Delay Motor, Social, and Personal Skills
Gross motor skills including arm, torso, and leg movement as well as communication skills like babbling, vocalizing, and understanding were evaluated in children.
Additionally, scientists studied problem-solving skills like learning and toy play as well as fine motor skills like finger and hand movement.
Children’s interpersonal and social abilities were also evaluated, with an emphasis on solitary social play, playing with toys, and interacting with other kids.
Researchers found that having a lot of screen time at age one was associated with difficulties with fine motor function, social skills, and personal abilities by age two, as reported in a study published in JAMA Paediatrics.
The less developed these skills were, the more time kids spent in front of screens, but these delays had disappeared by the time they were tested again at age four.
According to research, children who spent a lot of time watching screens may already have had problems with their fine motor, social, and personal development.
They also mentioned that some children’s linguistic abilities would advance if their screens were used for educational activities.
The American Academy of Paediatrics advises that when exposing digital media to children between the ages of 18 and 24 months, high-quality (such as instructional) programs should be used, according to associate professor and study author Dr. Taku Obara.
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Source: Daily Mail
