Is too much screen time linked to poor performance on developmental screening tests? A recent study confirms what many parents have long feared.

Spending a lot of time staring at screens as a toddler is linked with poorer performance on developmental screening tests later in childhood, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday.

Growing data suggests that exposing young children to too much time in front of a TV or computer can have negative effects on their development, including issues with memory, attention and language skills.

In the latest look at the topic, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics that more screen time is linked to poorer progress on key developmental measures such as communication skills, problem solving and social interactions among young kids over time.

Sheri Madigan, an assistant professor of psychology at University of Calgary in Canada, and her colleagues studied 2,441 mothers and children enrolled in the All Our Families study, which followed young children from ages two to five. Mothers reported on how much time their children spent in front of a television or computer screen on a typical day, and also reported on developmental measures by answering questions about their children’s communication skills, behavior and social interactions. The data were collected at the start of the study, when the children were two years old, then again when they were three and five.

Many studies have looked at the connection between screen time and developmental issues at one point in time, but by following the children over many years, Madigan and her team could learn more about how screen time and development interact. For example, while some studies suggested that increased screen time might contribute to slower development, it was also possible that parents with children with behavioral issues and developmental delays might be more likely to use movies, TV or video games to calm or quiet their child.

Is too much screen time linked to poor performance on developmental screening tests? A recent study confirms what many parents have long feared.

Spending a lot of time staring at screens as a toddler is linked with poorer performance on developmental screening tests later in childhood, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday.

development of 2,441 children and found that higher levels of screen time at ages 2 and 3 can impact development at 3 and 5. Development includes growth in communication, motor skills, problem-solving and social skills. Signs of such development can be seen in behaviors like being able to stack a small block or toy on top of another one.

“This study shows that, when used in excess, screen time can have consequences for children’s development. Parents can think of screens like they do giving junk food to their kids: In small doses, it’s OK, but in excess, it has consequences,” Sheri Madigan, an assistant professor and research chair in determinants of child development at the University of Calgary, who was lead author of the study, told CNN.

HealthDay News — Screen time is associated with poorer performance on developmental screening tests among young children, according to a study published online January 28 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Sheri Madigan, PhD, from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and colleagues examined the directional association between screen time and child development in a three-wave cross-lagged panel model. Data were included for 2441 mothers and children and were available when children were aged 24, 36, and 60 months. Developmental outcomes were assessed via maternal report using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition.

The researchers observed significant correlations for higher levels of screen time at ages 24 and 36 months with poorer performance on developmental screening tests at 36 and 60 months, respectively (β, −0.08 and −0.06, respectively). An association between lower scores on developmental screening tests and higher levels of screen time at later time points was not observed. 

• American Heart Association Urges Screen Time Limits for Youth
• Alcohol Exposure Via Breastmilk May Affect Infant Development

“To our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide evidence of a directional association between screen time and poor performance on development screening tests among very young children,” the authors write. “Understanding the directional association between screen time and its correlates, and taking family-based steps to engage with technology in positive ways may be fundamental to ensuring developmental success of children growing up in a digital age.”

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PEDIATRICS TECHNOLOGY

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HealthDay News — Adolescents with higher levels of conduct disorder symptoms and greater rates of depressive symptoms have increased odds of reporting participation in the choking game, in which pressure is applied to the carotid artery to temporarily limit blood flow and oxygen, according to a study published online January 28 in Pediatrics.

Grégory Michel, PhD, from the University of Bordeaux in France, and colleagues used data from two cross-sectional studies conducted in 2009 and 2013, respectively, among French middle school students. Data from 746 and 1025 students, respectively, were merged and the demographic and clinical characteristics of youth reporting a lifetime participation in the choking game were examined.

The researchers found that the lifetime prevalence of choking game participation was 9.7%; there were no statistically significant differences between the sexes. The likelihood of reporting choking game participation was increased significantly in association with higher levels of conduct disorder symptoms and greater rates of depressive symptoms (odds ratios, 2.33 and 2.18, respectively). 

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“In the current study, we provide a new arena for research by enlarging the field of investigation concerning the risk factors that may predict the course of asphyxial activities,” the authors write. “In terms of prevention, interventions designed specifically for at-risk individuals seem to be required.”

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GENERAL PSYCHIATRY MOOD DISORDERS PEDIATRICS

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•  

LONDON (AFP) - The British government said on Monday (April 8) that it will explore making social media executives personally liable for harmful content published on their platforms, in a raft of new online safety proposals.

The plans unveiled in a policy paper, which also include creating an independent regulator, aim to tackle all kinds of harmful content - from encouraging violence and suicide to spreading disinformation and cyber bullying.

The moves followed steps taken by Australia and Singapore to counter fake news and getting social media companies to play their part to stop the spread of harmful content online.

Like many families, ours followed this year’s midterm elections with passion. This will no doubt give us lots to talk about over the holidays and this week at Thanksgiving.

To be honest, this could stir considerable conflict. Our family is diverse: we are gay and straight; Black, white, and Latino; we are Fundamentalist Christian, Liberal Christian, Unitarian, Jewish, Buddhist, agnostic, and Atheist; we are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents; we come from suburban and urban communities. We will be 32 strong at our California Christmas dinner, with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents hailing from Florida, Washington, and Boston.

So even if politics are on all our minds, we can give political conversation a rest for one meal, because as a family we are not defined by our politics. I believe we are defined by how well we love each other, by how well we truly see one another. So this year, under each holiday plate, I will place one of the questions below, to spur the kind of conversation where we truly listen to one another, so we can get to know each other better. Even though I’ve known most of the people at the table since birth — or they’ve known me since I was born — we still have so much to learn about each other.

Growing data suggests that exposing young children to too much time in front of a TV or computer can have negative effects on their development, including issues with memory, attention and language skills.

In the latest look at the topic, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics that more screen time is linked to poorer progress on key developmental measures such as communication skills, problem solving and social interactions among young kids over time.

Sheri Madigan, an assistant professor of psychology at University of Calgary in Canada, and her colleagues studied 2,441 mothers and children enrolled in the All Our Families study, which followed young children from ages two to five. Mothers reported on how much time their children spent in front of a television or computer screen on a typical day, and also reported on developmental measures by answering questions about their children’s communication skills, behavior and social interactions. The data were collected at the start of the study, when the children were two years old, then again when they were three and five.

Question  Is increased screen time associated with poor performance on children’s developmental screening tests?

Findings  In this cohort study of early childhood development in 2441 mothers and children, higher levels of screen time in children aged 24 and 36 months were associated with poor performance on a screening measure assessing children’s achievement of development milestones at 36 and 60 months, respectively. The obverse association (ie, poor developmental performance to increased screen time) was not observed.

Meaning  Excessive screen time can impinge on children’s ability to develop optimally; it is recommended that pediatricians and health care practitioners guide parents on appropriate amounts of screen exposure and discuss potential consequences of excessive screen use.

Abstract 

HealthDay News — Screen time is associated with poorer performance on developmental screening tests among young children, according to a study published online January 28 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Sheri Madigan, PhD, from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and colleagues examined the directional association between screen time and child development in a three-wave cross-lagged panel model. Data were included for 2441 mothers and children and were available when children were aged 24, 36, and 60 months. Developmental outcomes were assessed via maternal report using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition.

The researchers observed significant correlations for higher levels of screen time at ages 24 and 36 months with poorer performance on developmental screening tests at 36 and 60 months, respectively (β, −0.08 and −0.06, respectively). An association between lower scores on developmental screening tests and higher levels of screen time at later time points was not observed. 

• American Heart Association Urges Screen Time Limits for Youth
• Alcohol Exposure Via Breastmilk May Affect Infant Development

“To our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide evidence of a directional association between screen time and poor performance on development screening tests among very young children,” the authors write. “Understanding the directional association between screen time and its correlates, and taking family-based steps to engage with technology in positive ways may be fundamental to ensuring developmental success of children growing up in a digital age.”

Dr. Lisa Strohman, founder and director of Technology Wellness Center joins The Doctors to discuss the increase in teen suicide rates and how technology use

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At a time when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade, the longest longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years, and often become more fulfilling than before.

Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional health of over 200 men, starting with their undergraduate days. The now-classic Adaptation to Life reported on the men’s lives up to age 55 and helped us understand adult maturation. Now George Vaillant follows the men into their nineties, documenting for the first time what it is like to flourish far beyond conventional retirement.

Reporting on all aspects of male life, including relationships, politics and religion, coping strategies, and alcohol use (its abuse being by far the greatest disruptor of health and happiness for the study’s subjects), Triumphs of Experience shares a number of surprising findings. For example, the people who do well in old age did not necessarily do so well in midlife, and vice versa. While the study confirms that recovery from a lousy childhood is possible, memories of a happy childhood are a lifelong source of strength. Marriages bring much more contentment after age 70, and physical aging after 80 is determined less by heredity than by habits formed prior to age 50. The credit for growing old with grace and vitality, it seems, goes more to ourselves than to our stellar genetic makeup.

In Triumphs of Experience, George Vaillant writes that “there are two pillars of happiness revealed by the seventy-five-year-old Grant Study. One is love. The other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away.”

We all do things — perhaps daily — that push the people we love away from us. We sneak “harmless” glances at our smartphones while playing games with our children. We forget to take thirty seconds to greet our spouse warmly when we haven’t seen her or him all day. We decline a call from our friend or grandmother because we don’t feel like mustering the energy to truly listen. This modern world we live in is full of common situations and experiences which, if not handled well, create resistance rather than ease, impairing the strength that a relationship brings us. Tiny ruptures in our relationships drive love and connection out of our lives.

LA-based Digital Media Parenting Educator and founder of ReConnect Julia Storm joined anchors Frank Buckley, Mark Kriski, Sam Rubin and Lu Parker with a parent’s guide to summer screen time

For more info on Julia, ReConnect and the family workshops she offers to help raise kids in the digital age, you can go here.

Running a holiday sale or weekly special? Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.

Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

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