📺 Are your kids on a screen detox?📱

After 2-3 weeks entertaining your kids over the Christmas holidays, are you feeling guilty about the disrupted routines, late bed times and unadulterated screen time? Parents are switching off screens and trying to get back to routines - but how bad should we feel?

Unfortunately, very little has changed in the landscape of the scientific evidence vs the media, with anxious parents caught in the middle.

Today, I will run down some of the latest evidence, in the hopes I can alleviate some of those concerns and offer you some practical (and manageable advice).

I encourage you to think about “screens” like we think about “food”. Without context, it is meaningless, and it is not all created equal. You don’t want to over-eat, but eating too many vegetables is not the same as eating too much fried, sugary food. Eating cake is ok, in sensible amounts, but we can’t ban cake because some people eat nothing but cake, and forbidding cake just makes it more attractive.

Why should I worry?

• Impact on Physical Health: One of the major concerns when it comes to screen media use is the relationship to our children’s physical health- their sleep, sedentary time, and physical activity. Excessive screen time is associated with reduced physical activity and can contribute to obesity and unhealthy eating habits. There is evidence that children may eat more while viewing screens, and are also exposed to more marketing for high-calorie, low nutrient foods and beverages.

• Impact on Sleep: Screen use, particularly close to bedtime, can disrupt sleep patterns in children and adolescents. This can lead to delayed bedtimes, longer time to fall asleep, shorter total sleep and daytime sleepiness. This becomes more problematic with preteens and adolescents as their social behaviour becomes intwined with screens (texting and gaming late into the night).

• Impact on Cognitive Development: This is probably the one that causes parents most concern. Is digital media delaying or disrupting cognitive development - interfering with attention and language development?

• Displacement of Important Activities: Time spent using screens can displace other activities important for development, such as in-person social interactions, play, and reading.

What does this mean for my parenting?

Children 0-3 years:

• Real-life interactions are key: Babies learn best from real people, not screens, they fundamentally need human face to face interaction.

• Limited learning from media: There's a lack of evidence that very young children can effectively learn from digital media.

• Potential for displacement: Screen time can take away from important activities like play and face-to-face interactions.

• Prioritise Human Interaction: Encourage face-to-face interactions, play, and reading with your children.

3-5 years:

• Impact on brain development: Some research has linked less healthy media practices, such as exceeding screen time recommendations, to lower white matter integrity and lower cortical thickness in some areas of the brain.

• Language development: Some media can support vocabulary growth, particularly when parents co-use the media with children, but research suggests that passive media use is not a substitute for real-life interactions.

• Executive function: Some studies suggest that excessive screen time can impact attention and executive function.

• Be mindful of digital distractions: Make sure your family has time for screen-free sleep, focused activities, and quality interactions.

6-12 years:

• Increased independence: Children in this age group begin to use media more independently from parents.

• Potential for displacement: Technology use is linked to less physical activity, less time spent reading, and less sleep.

• Parental mediation: Parents may find it challenging to manage their child’s increasing media use, balancing their child’s independence with continued oversight.

• Co-use media with older children: Watch media together and talk to your children about what they are seeing, to help them make connections between the screen and their own lives.

Tips for families with children of all ages

• Beware of "technoference"—when parent’s use of mobile devices or background TV disrupts interactions with your children. This can lead to lower parental sensitivity and fewer verbal interactions, which could hinder language development.

• Create a Family Media Plan: Establish clear rules about when, how and what types of media can be used by your family. Include screen-free times, and consider whether to limit access to devices in bedrooms.

• Focus on Quality Over Quantity: Instead of solely focusing on the amount of time spent on screens, consider what your child is using, why, when, how and with whom.

• Be Realistic About Learning from Media: Babies learn best from real people. For older children, use media together or ask questions to help them connect what they see on screen to their own lives.

• Model Healthy Habits: Children learn by observing their parents, so it is important to demonstrate responsible digital behaviour.

• Encourage Physical Activity: Make time for regular physical activity to counter sedentary time spent on screens.

• Be Aware of Social Media Trends: Discuss online safety with your children, and help them understand the risks of participating in potentially dangerous social media challenges.

• The Importance of Media Literacy: Media literacy is an important skill for children as they grow up in a digital world. It includes the ability to access, analyse, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms. Parents can support the development of media literacy skills by talking to their children about the messages they see online and on screen.

  Resources: Download this free ebook for all the research into digital media in children: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5