Outdoor play may reduce negative effect of higher screen time for toddlers

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-01-24 03:00

International

PHOTO: Pixabay

Japanese researchers looked at almost 900 children to see how higher screen time among toddlers might be linked to certain neurodevelopmental outcomes a couple years later. They found one hour or more of daily screen time at two years of age was linked to poorer communication and daily living skills at four years of age. Outdoor play at two years and eight months seemed to lessen the link between screen time and poorer daily living skills, however. The research team calls for more studies, and says it’s important to update guidelines regarding media use for parents, educators, researchers, and the children themselves.

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From:

Journal/
conference: JAMA Pediatrics

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Osaka University; See paper for full list of author affiliations

Funder: This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (19H03582, 21KK0145, and 22H00492 to Dr Tsuchiya; 20K07941 to Dr Nishimura), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) (JP21gk0110039 to Dr Tsuchiya), and the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH102729 to Dr Nomura). The study was conducted as part of the Collaborative Research Network for Asian Children with Developmental Disorders (CRNACDD), United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazwa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui.

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