Tablet use in toddlers linked to symptoms of anger, frustration
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Key takeaways:
- Tablet use increased from 6.5 hours per week at age 3 1/2 years to 7 hours per week at age 5 1/2 years.
- Tablet use and symptoms of anger were positively associated at all three time points.
Higher daily screen time for toddlers appeared to be associated with more intense expressions of anger as they got older, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“Clinicians should sensitize parents to closely monitor and use caution when introducing tablets to young children,” Caroline Fitzpatrick, PhD, associate professor in the department of preschool and elementary school education at Université de Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada, told Healio.
The prospective community-based study included a convenience sample of 315 toddlers (54% boys) who were 3 1/2 years old in 2020. The toddlers’ parents reported how much time their children used tablets on weekdays and weekends and shared their child’s proneness to anger and frustration, which was scored on a Likert scale from 0 to 7, where a higher score correlated to more intense expressions of anger. The researchers followed up at 1 year and 2 years after intake.
Tablet use increased as the participants got older, with an average of 6.5 hours per week at baseline, 6.7 hours per week at age 4 1/2 years and 7 hours per week at age 5 1/2 years, the researchers reported. There were significant positive correlations (r) in tablet use between baseline and 1 year (r = 0.55; P < .001) and 1 year and 2 years (r = 0.49; P < .001).
The researchers also found significant correlations in anger from baseline to 1 year (r = 0.63; P < .001) and 1 year to 2 years (r = 0.59; P < .001).
Tablet use and symptoms of anger and frustration were positively associated at each time point (baseline, r = 0.18; 1 year, r = 0.23; 2 years, r = 0.18).
Toddlers who had 1.22 hours more daily tablet use at age 3 1/2 years experienced 22% of a standard deviation increase in expressions of anger at age 4 1/2 years, and 4 1/2-year-old children with one standard deviation elevated anger symptoms had 0.28 hours per day more screen time at age 5 1/2 years.
“Parents can also be advised to avoid using screens as a calming tool, or digital pacifier,” Fitzpatrick said. “Parents of children who are more prone to outbursts of anger and frustration can be coached to engage their child in activities, like make-believe play and shared book reading, [which] help build self-regulation skills.
“Clinicians can also encourage parents to put in place a family media plan to help them establish balanced family media habits.”
Reference:
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Family media plan. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/fmp/Pages/MediaPlan.aspx. Accessed Aug. 16, 2024.
- Fitzpatrick C, et al. JAMA Pediatr. 2024;doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.2511.
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