STAY OFF SCREEN, PARENTS
Stunts kids’ language Supermodel Elsa's wild office hours
There should be no phoning it in as a parent. Screen-addicted moms and dads are ruining their kids’ language-development skills by typing, texting, tweeting and TikTokking, new stats warn.
“Parental techno-reference — regular disruption of face-to-face interactions between parents and children due to the use of a screen device — has an impact on child mental health, family relationships and children’s cognitive development,” noted study authors from Estonia’s Institute of Psychology in a report last week.
The investigative team, helmed by Dr. Tiia Tulviste of the University of Tartu, surveyed over 400 families with children under age 5 to determine the damaging effects of a parent’s use of phones, computers, tablets and TVs. Researchers found that tots tend to mimic their parents’ device dependence — meaning the more mom and dad indulge in screen time, the more baby finds for screens. And parroting their parents ultimately stunts a little one’s vocabulary and grammatical growth.
The findings echo those of Drexel University analysts, who said toddlers with screen time are more likely to display atypical sensory behaviors associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Alongside her co-authors, Tulviste polled 421 parents, asking them to estimate how long each member of the family usually spends using different screen devices for different purposes on a typical weekend day. Tulviste also asked how much of that time would be spent using a screen as a family, like watching a movie together.
All study participants then filled out a questionnaire evaluating their brood’s language abilities. Based on the responses, researchers categorized the parents and their kiddos in “high,” “low” or “moderate” screen-use groups.
After collecting the data, the scientists examined the language development of these children to find that children who enjoyed less screen time scored higher for both grammar and vocabulary. No form of screen use, including family co-viewing time, had a positive effect on children’s language skills, according to the results. Video gaming was most notably negatively associated with the child’s language skills.