Young children’s screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 12 countries

Bergmann, Christina; Dimitrova, Nevena; Alaslani, Khadeejah; Almohammadi, Alaa; Alroqi, Haifa; Aussems, Suzanne; Barokova, Mihaela; Davies, Catherine; Gonzalez‐Gomez, Nayeli; Gibson, Shannon P.; Havron, Naomi; Horowitz‐Kraus, Tzipi; Kanero, Junko; Kartushina, Natalia; Keller, Christina; Mayor, Julien; Mundry, Roger; Shinskey, Jeanne L.; Mani, Nivedita

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05840-5

Cited by 88 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Higher earnings were associated with lower screen time use in all modalities except video chat [ 31 ]. According to Bergmann et al [ 32 ] parents reported that young children not required to be in school were exposed to more screen time during lockdown than before. While this was exacerbated in countries with longer lockdowns, there was no evidence that increased screen time during lockdown was associated with sociodemographic variables, such as child age and socioeconomic status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On What Tasks Did Children between the Ages of 3 and 12 Years Spend Their Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An International Comparative Study between Ibero-America and Europe

et al. 2022

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The pandemic caused by COVID-19 meant, in many countries, the establishment of a period of confinement in which families were forced to restrict movement and social contacts with the consequent risk of inactivity. Our objective as to analyze the degree of psychosocial well-being, sociodemographic aspects and use of technological means depending on the educational level of the parents. The sample consisted of 2316 children aged between 3 and 12 years (M = 7.70; SD = 2.86). For the analysis and treatment of the data, the statistical software SPSS 25.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) was used. We found that the European participants used more video consoles (M = 0.89 ± 1.33) and tablets (M = 1.30 ± 0.95), while the Ibero-Americans obtained higher values in the use of TV (M = 2.28 ± 1.10) and levels higher in a negative state of psychosocial well-being (M = 7.29 ± 1.07) and in tiredness/fatigue (M = 4.34 ± 2.44). We concluded that, during the period of confinement in European areas, higher values were obtained in the time dedicated to Physical Activity (PA), use of tablets, school task performance, artistic activities, family games, reading, free play and hours of sleep; while in Ibero-America, there were longer times in the use of technological devices and performing domestic tasks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On What Tasks Did Children between the Ages of 3 and 12 Years Spend Their Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An International Comparative Study between Ibero-America and Europe

et al. 2022

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“…The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on increased screen time for all ages [ 61 ] is troubling given that screen time has been associated with obesity [ 62 ] and is a risk factor for severe obesity in children under 5 [ 63 ]. Children ages 3–7 across six countries reported increased screen time [ 64 ] and even children as young as 8–36 months are acquiring more screen time than before COVID-19 [ 65 ]. Future research should explore what providers know about why screen-time limits are recommended and to help develop training and tools to facilitate conversations between providers and parents about the importance of limiting screen time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Informing State-Wide Coalition Efforts to Implement and Integrate Nutrition Best Practices in Early Care and Education: Focus Group Insights from Child Care Providers

Koester

Sloane

Chusid

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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A healthy diet in early childhood is an important contributor to ensuring lifelong health and in reducing risk for obesity. The child care environment is critical to supporting nutrition as a majority of young children less than 5 years of age are enrolled in out-of-home care. In order to better understand barriers to implementing and integrating nutrition best practices, we conduced focus groups with child care providers (n = 25) in Illinois. Providers from low-income communities, rural communities, and communities of color were prioritized. Focus group participants reported several challenges including the high cost of nutritious food, picky eating, and their perception that parents did not set good examples at home. Many providers identified the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) as a critical resource in helping them implement best practices. Providers discussed needing and wanting more training, more money for food, and more parental support. These results indicate support for additional resources and sustained training and technical assistance to address perceived challenges. The evidence of the importance of CACFP in helping providers engage in nutrition best practices indicates support for expansion and strengthening of the program.

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“…Since the pandemic drastically reduced the possibility for outdoor activities throughout the globe, it is unsurprising that screen media exposure had increased dramatically among 3-17 year olds in (for a review, see Bergmann et al, 2022) and toddlers (Bergmann et al, 2022). In the United States, both total screen media exposure and problematic media use (de ned as a dependence that interferes with a child's usual functioning) increased among 2-11 year-olds, compared to pre-pandemic levels (Eales et al, 2021).…”

Section: Children Screen Times During the Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive function difficulties among school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with home literacy environment, reading and screen media times

Tabullo

Juric

Abusamra

2022

Preprint

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Several studies indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic and the containment measures it required (including social distancing, quarantine and school closure) had a significant impact on children’s mental health. The present study aimed to examine executive function difficulties at behavioural level in school children during the COVID-19 lockdown, and to analyze potential associations with home literacy environment, current reading and screen times. Data were collected from mothers of 210 children (9–12 years old) through an online survey. Significant increases in children screen times were observed, while most of them did not read for pleasure on a daily basis. Parents’ literacy beliefs and children’s current leisure reading times were negative predictors of executive function difficulties, which increased with videogame and internet exposure. Nevertheless, perceived changes on screen or reading times with respect to pre-pandemic levels were not associated with executive function scores. The results might indicate: 1) opposite effects of literacy and screen times over children’s executive functioning; 2) a preference for reading or screen recreational use according to their executive function profiles; or 3) a combination of both. Our findings highlight the relation of reading and screen times with children’s cognitive development, and the importance of following their trajectory during post-pandemic times.

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Young children’s screen time during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 12 countries

Cited by 88 publications

References 56 publications

On What Tasks Did Children between the Ages of 3 and 12 Years Spend Their Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An International Comparative Study between Ibero-America and Europe

On What Tasks Did Children between the Ages of 3 and 12 Years Spend Their Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An International Comparative Study between Ibero-America and Europe

Informing State-Wide Coalition Efforts to Implement and Integrate Nutrition Best Practices in Early Care and Education: Focus Group Insights from Child Care Providers

Executive function difficulties among school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with home literacy environment, reading and screen media times

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