Many parents allow their children to engage with smartphones and tablets from an early age, viewing these devices as tools for entertainment. However, this can have significant negative impacts on children’s mental well-being.
Negative Effects on Mental Health
The sight of children glued to their smartphones or tablets has become all too familiar in today’s technological era. Many parents permit their young ones to use these devices very early on, even considering them as toys to keep kids occupied and prevent them from misbehaving.
However, recent research indicates that allowing children to interact with and use electronic devices like smartphones and tablets from an early age, especially during the toddler to preschool years, can adversely affect their mental health.
The sight of children fixated on smartphone or tablet screens has become quite common nowadays (Image source: Getty).
A study conducted by a group of Canadian scientists and psychologists, led by Caroline Fitzpatrick, a professor of education at the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, reveals that the use of smartphones and tablets by young children can lead to disruptions in their ability to control anger and frustration, resulting in increased emotional outbursts.
Professor Fitzpatrick explains that children in their early years are still developing emotional regulation skills, but early exposure to technology like tablets and smartphones can hinder this process.
Infants typically cry and scream to express their feelings. However, as months pass, children learn to manage their expressions of anger and frustration. Nonetheless, they still require parental attention to master this skill.
According to researchers, toddlers learn emotional regulation in two ways:
- First, parents can directly guide children in how to manage emotional outbursts when they occur.
- Second, children closely observe their parents to learn how adults regulate their own emotions.
However, an increasing number of toddlers are interacting with screens instead of their parents, the research team led by Professor Fitzpatrick noted.
“According to a survey in the United States, most 4-year-olds own their own mobile devices, and thanks to ‘pandemic support,’ the average time a child spends staring at these devices increased from an average of 5 minutes per day in 2020 to 55 minutes per day in 2022,” the study states.
Young children in preschool who spend excessive time on smartphones and tablets may not learn how to regulate their emotions (Image source: Adobe).
The research also indicates that toddlers are more prone to emotional outbursts if they spend more time looking at screens on electronic devices.
Specifically, children aged 3.5 years who increase their smartphone or tablet usage by one additional hour each day will show a significant rise in levels of anger or frustration within just a year.
Researchers found that the level of emotional disruption in children will continue to rise if they keep increasing their screen time on smartphones and tablets until they reach 5.5 years of age.
What Can Parents Do?
“The study’s results indicate that using electronic devices like smartphones and tablets at a young age can contribute to a harmful cycle in emotional regulation for young children,” the research team writes.
Notably, researchers point out that many parents often soothe their children’s anger by allowing them to continue using smartphones and tablets, inadvertently creating a vicious cycle that leads children to become “addicted” to electronic devices and struggle to manage their emotions.
“Parents often use smartphones and tablets as tools to calm children’s anger and help control emotional outbursts, but this creates a cycle with the emotional development of young children,” the researchers stated.
Parents should not allow children to use smartphones or tablets alone; they should supervise and limit the time spent on these devices (Image: iStock).
So, what can parents do to mitigate their children’s emotional outbursts?
Researchers suggest that direct interaction between parents and children is always the best way to help toddlers develop emotionally. Ignoring interaction and leaving it entirely to electronic devices can have long-term detrimental effects on children.
“The ability to manage emotional outbursts and anger is crucial for early learning and future mental health in young children,” shares Professor Caroline Fitzpatrick.
Psychologists further advise that if parents wish to allow their children to engage with smartphones and tablets, they should set specific time limits for their usage, such as 20 minutes for smartphones or 15 minutes for tablets each day. Additionally, children should not be allowed to use these devices unsupervised; an adult should always be present to monitor and explore useful content with them.
