How much screen time to allow a child is a question many parents grapple with. But what may not be taken into consideration is family screen time — the amount of time parents and caregivers spend watching television or on their devices and gadgets — and how this affects children.
An ongoing study by a Ph.D. research student at Sri Ramachandra University has found that the family’s screen time too has a negative impact on children, reducing reciprocal interaction — and potentially contributing to problems associated with extended screen time — such as behavioural issues, sleep problems, inattentiveness and delayed language development, among others.
The study by M. Krupa involved 92 children — 46 of whom had autism spectrum disorder and 46 typically developing children between the ages of two and four. With the permission of the families, the interaction of the mother and child was recorded and later analysed.
“There was a minimum of four hours of family screen time at all of the households. Even if the parent is not looking at a device, an older relative may be watching television or the television may generally be on,” Ms. Krupa said. The child’s attention, said her guide Prakash Boominathan, professor, department of speech, language and hearing sciences, is almost always directed towards the screen or device — shinier and brighter — than anything else around.
“Normal development requires a stimulating environment and meaningful parent-child reciprocal interaction, particularly before 4 years of age. Even if a child is not directly watching television or using a gadget, if the caregiver is engaged in screen time, reciprocal interaction gets disrupted and the communication cycle breaks down. The increase in family screen time due to the use of smartphones and other electronic media reduces the time and motivation of family members to play or interact with young children,” said Padmasani Venkat Ramanan, professor, department of paediatrics, Sri Ramachandra University, who is also guiding Ms. Krupa.
With many parents working from home on their devices, it may not be possible to completely stop exposure to screens, but creating work-life balance is important, said Shiva Prakash Srinivasan, a child psychiatrist associated with the Schizophrenia Research Foundation. “Caregiver attention is especially important for younger children. Distractions in communication could affect the development of the child,” he said.
