A recent study involving nearly 1,900 toddlers has revealed a concerning trend: the more time young children spend in front of screens, the less likely they are to develop strong language skills.
Researchers from various Latin American countries studied the daily lives of these young children, aged between 12 and 48 months, to understand the impact of screens like TVs and smartphones on their language development. The findings are stark.
On average, these toddlers are exposed to TV for about 60 minutes daily and background TV for 90 minutes. This exceeds the recommendations set by pediatric associations, which advocate for minimal to no screen time for children under two years old, and only one hour per day for those slightly older, if supervised by adults.
The study, conducted across 19 countries, showed a clear pattern: children who spent more time with screens, especially TV and background TV, exhibited lower scores in language abilities. This includes both lexical density—how many words a child knows—and sentence use—how they use those words in context. For instance, for every additional hour of TV watched, there was a noticeable drop in the richness of a toddler’s vocabulary.
But why is this happening? Lucas G. Gago-Galvagno, one of the lead researchers, explained that screens often displace activities that are crucial for language development.
“When a child is watching TV, they’re not engaging in conversations with adults or peers, which is fundamental for learning language,” Gago-Galvagno stated. This displacement can mean fewer opportunities for toddlers to practice and expand their language skills.
The study also highlighted that not all screen time is created equal. The type of content matters significantly. Entertainment content, while engaging, does not offer the same educational benefits as programs designed specifically for young learners. Interestingly, when screens were shared with adults, there was a positive correlation with language skills. This suggests that interaction with caregivers during screen time can mitigate some negative effects by turning passive viewing into a more active, educational experience.
However, the picture isn’t entirely bleak. The research also found that shared screen time, where parents or caregivers interact with the child while viewing, can actually support language growth. For example, discussing what’s happening on screen or asking questions about the content can turn screen time into a learning opportunity.
Another critical aspect was the socioeconomic status (SES). While screen use was widespread across all SES levels, the study noted that families in lower SES brackets had less access to tablets and educational content, potentially exacerbating disparities in early language development.
Reference
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314569
