Positive mother‐child interactions and parenting styles were associated with lower screen time in early childhood

Abstract

Aim This study examined long‐term associations between mother‐child interactions and parenting styles and electronic screen time. Methods We studied 280 healthy children (53.2% girls) enrolled at a mean age of 36 ± 0.4 months from February 2015 to September 2016. The study included retrospective data on 267 children who had been recruited from medical facilities in Thailand at 6 months of age. Mother‐child interaction, parenting styles and screen time were assessed at various ages and path analyses were performed to elucidate the directionality and relationships between the variables. Results Increased mother‐child interaction at 18 months of age was positively associated with less screen time at 2 and 3 years of age. Likewise, nurturing authoritative parenting at 3 years of age was directly related to lower media exposure at 4 years. The total screen time at younger ages had positive direct relationships with relaxed permissive and strict authoritarian parenting styles, but negative direct relationships with nurturing authoritative parenting in subsequent years. Conclusion Early mother‐child interaction and nurturing authoritative parenting were associated with subsequent decreased screen time, while media exposure at the age of two was related to relaxed permissive and strict authoritarian parenting at 3 years of age.

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors of Young Children: Trends from 2009 to 2018

“…Taking into account the multiple negative consequences of excessive ST, interventions aiming at raising parents' awareness about this phenomenon seem imperative. It is necessary for parents to understand that efficient screen use parenting results in less ST [82]. Additionally, it is important for parents to understand that their own screen use behaviors influence those of their children [83].…”

Early Electronic Screen Exposure and Autistic-Like Behaviors among Preschoolers: The Mediating Role of Caregiver-Child Interaction, Sleep Duration and Outdoor Activities

“…Similarly, a study by Mendelsohn et al showed that verbal interactions between mothers and children were limited during screen exposure, with only 42.8% mothers talking to their children while co-viewing educational programs and 21.3% during non-educational programs [63]. Moreover, a prospective study showed that increasing mother-child interaction at 18 months could reduce children's screen time at subsequent two and three years of age [64]. These findings are similar to our results, showing a negative association between screen time and the frequency of caregiver-child interaction.…”

Incidencia del uso de pantallas en niñas y niños menores de 2 años

“…Por eso, esta institución recomienda informarles a las familias que las habilidades cognitivas superiores y las funciones ejecutivas imprescindibles para lograr un buen desempeño escolar -tales como la perseverancia en las tareas, el control de los impulsos, la regulación emocional y el pensamiento creativo y flexible-se transmiten mejor mediante el juego no estructurado y social (no digital), así como mediante las interacciones empáticas entre madres/padres e hijas/os. En este sentido, se ha demostrado que la interacción cara a cara es imprescindible para preservar el desarrollo de las competencias sociales y emocionales en las niñas y niños pequeños (Detnakarintra et al, 2019).…”