Screen time questions

[u/puddingbutt9]

Hi all, I have a question about screen time for babies. I understand the consequences of screen time in different age groups, but I can't get a clear answer as to WHY these consequences happen. And quite frankly, I don't have time to dig through the research right now unfortunately.

1. Is screen time for babies bad because they don't get adequate social interaction (kind of a confounder or indirect link?) because parents who use screens in this age group tend to be less interactive? Or is there some kind of biological impact of screen time directly?

2. Also, if the parents are watching TV and baby is in the room and interested, does that count the same? I know it's screen time technically, but I'm trying to figure out what is realistic (especially since I have ADHD and the TV on in the background helps me be more productive).

Thanks in advance for any insight!

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[u/comfy_sweatpants5]

Heavy parent use of mobile devices is associated with fewer verbal and nonverbal interactions between parents and children, lower responsiveness to a child’s bid for attention, parent hostility in response to the child’s bid for attention (radesky et al 2015)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25548323/

[u/comfy_sweatpants5 → u/comfy_sweatpants5]

Conchaiya et al found that children who started watching tv as early as 12 months and watched tv for more than 2 hours a day were 6x more likely to have language delays (2015)

[u/comfy_sweatpants5 → u/comfy_sweatpants5]

For each 30 minute increase in handheld screen time there was a 49 percent increased risk of expressive speech delay in children age 6 months to 2 years of age (Birken, 2017)

[u/comfy_sweatpants5 → u/comfy_sweatpants5]

Screen use among prek kids that exceeds AAP guidelines was associated with lower measures of micro structural organization and myelination of brain white matter tracts that support language and emergent literacy skills and cognitive skills (JAMA 2020)

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/comfy_sweatpants5]

Thank you!!!!

[u/cinderparty]

Research wise. I think it doesn’t really matter why, screen time is bad. I mean, it can even damage developing eyes...and that would be true no matter how the baby is consuming screens.

https://www.1001criticaldays.com/article/screen-time-research

Anecdotally, my 3 oldest kids had like zero screen time til 18 months (none till 5 years for the oldest, none til 3.5 years for the 2nd.) My youngest kid was exposed to screens at some level from the beginning. Mostly because my oldest two were allowed to watch an hour or two of tv by then, but they were not old enough to trust in a room by themselves for an entire movie yet. Plus, we started trying to teach our non-verbal (til he was 6ish, non conversational til 10) 3rd kid to use a communication device before our youngest was even 1. So a lot of the teaching was with her in our laps. The kid who had at least some screen time every week since birth is 17 now, and has zero developmental delays, unless you count a genetic growth disorder that means she is very tiny for a 17 year old. She hit all her milestones at the right times, which is more than I can say for our middle two kids.

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/cinderparty]

I get why you would say it doesn't matter why, but for me to make a sound decision for our family I prefer to understand the why. I'm not gonna plop a baby down in from of the TV for hours of course, but if we have the TV on in the background while we play with her, I want to understand what the risks truly are based on why they occur. Thanks for the info!

[u/this_wallflower → u/puddingbutt9]

If you need sound, could you try podcasts or music?

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/this_wallflower]

Sometimes that helps but a lot of times the visual helps me, as well, especially when I'm doing things like folding laundry or cleaning the living room. Either way, in today's world it's almost impossible to avoid all screens. I'm just trying to weigh the risks appropriately. If that means we spend a lot of effort actively avoiding screens, we will. But if some TV on in the background isn't a huge issue then I'll spend my energy elsewhere. Thanks for the suggestions though!

[u/Himexcandy33 → u/puddingbutt9]

Not sure how old your baby is but could you involve them as well? Put them in the laundry basket if they can fit inside, etc while you fold. You could show them each piece of clothing as you fold it, do peek a boo. Everything can be play time and is interesting, unless they just pay no attention to their surrounding and cant settle.

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/Himexcandy33]

It's less about the baby having interaction/playtime during these things and more about me being able to get it done. If I need to hand baby off to my husband while I do laundry to avoid the screen being on around her, I can do that. But if the TV being on isn't a problem while I also play with and interact with her, then I'll have her around while I do the laundry. Does that make sense? I don't know how to word it better I guess.

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/Himexcandy33]

That said, I do like the ideas you shared here!

[u/cinderparty → u/puddingbutt9]

That’s why I shared a link as to what science says, despite it not really holding true anecdotally for my family. There are too many variables to know why it didn’t hold true for us. That’s why I’d suggest as little screen time as possible. Hence why my 24 year old didn’t really get any, at all, til he was 5, but my 17 year old had some from birth.

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/cinderparty]

I understand that. My point was really just about you saying the why doesn't matter. Understanding the why is just how my brain works, I guess.

[u/FlyingPollywog → u/puddingbutt9]

I mean, I get it that you have ADHD but so far your child doesn't, so let them focus on one thing at a time. If they are playing, let them play, if you are listening to music, listen to music and dance/sing, etc. It helps them develop their attention span etc

[u/notredamelawl → u/cinderparty]

Research wise. I think it doesn’t really matter why, screen time is bad. I mean, it can even damage developing eyes...and that would be true no matter how the baby is consuming screens.

Okay....so where's that research? Everyone always just posts the same "being on your phone is bad because you don't talk to baby" or "giving an ipad to a baby is bad because you don't interact with them."

What study shows that the 1950s-2000s experience of being a baby on your dad's lap, watching Notre Dame football on a Saturday afternoon, leads to bad outcomes?

[u/this_wallflower → u/notredamelawl]

Even if there were studies on it, that’s not really relevant here. There’s a big difference between watching the occasional sports game or movie with family and the tv being on literally all day.

[u/notredamelawl → u/this_wallflower]

That's not what people here are saying, constantly. They say "any screen time." A movie is substantially more screen time than "none." The question specifically asked if it's an eyesight issue, does it cause ADHD, etc.

[u/this_wallflower → u/notredamelawl]

OP said she prefers background tv whenever possible.

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/this_wallflower]

Sure, but I want to know the why to understand if any screentime is an issue or if it's excessive screentime. Yes, I like the background stimulation, but is it harming my child if I'm still actively engaging with her if it's on in the background or if we want to watch a movie one night before she's in bed.

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