amount of baby time spend time staring at computer, television, and phone screens In the first years of life, it may be indirectly linked to cognitive decline later in life, according to new research.
Babies who saw an average of two hours of screen time a day had worse executive function performance at age 9 afterward, according to a study released Monday. In the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Executive functioning associated with long-term academic success is defined by the researchers in this study as “the set of higher cognitive skills essential for self-regulation, learning, academic performance, and mental health.”
Researchers studied over 400 children.
“They did an EEG to test and study their brain waves at about 18 months,” Dr. Jennifer Ashton said. , who was the chief medical correspondent for ABC News and was not involved in the study. “What they found was that the babies with the most screen time performed the worst on tests of attention and memory by age 9.”
This study does not demonstrate that screen time directly leads to cognitive decline. Other factors, such as family income level, also appeared to be associated with lower cognitive function scores.
Nevertheless, the findings Guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics Do not give screen time to children under the age of 2.
AAP recommends that children between the ages of 2 and 5 be limited to one hour of screen time per day with parental supervision.
>75% of children under age 2 and >64% of children age 2-5 Exceeding recommended guidelines, According to researchers in University of Calgaryanalyzed over 60 studies involving over 89,000 children worldwide.
In this stock photo, a toddler is watching cartoons on his mobile phone.
Pavlina Popovska/Getty Images
The AAP says parents should set boundaries on screen time and work with their kids for ages 5 and up. Create a media usage plan for your family Set time limits and establish guidelines for the types of media your children consume.
“There’s some research that suggests there may be social or emotional benefits for older children, especially adolescents,” Ashton said. It’s not just what teenagers and kids are consuming on screen that creates
Earlier this week, Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General made the headlines by stating: He said 13 is too young for a child to join social media platforms, even though some of the most popular platforms such as Facebook and Instagram set it as a minimum age requirement. thinking about.
Social media use is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, body image issues, and lower life satisfaction in some teens and adolescents. research showFrequent use of social media by adolescents as they hit puberty is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction one year later. One large study found.
Not all teens go through such experiences. Researchers continue to work to understand who is most at risk of being adversely affected by social media, and have found that when children start using social media affects their mental health differently. It is not yet clear whether there is.
For parents trying to navigate guidance on social media and screen time with their kids, Ashton shared these four tips.
1. No phone on the table For meals and family gatherings.
2. Stop screen time 1 hour before bedtime.
3. Keep phones and screens out of your bedroom while sleeping.
4. Set an example as a parent By limiting my screen time and social media usage.
