Parents’ screen time impacts child’s mental health, shock new study finds

There should be no phoning it in as a parent.

Screen-addicted moms and dads are ruining their kids’ language development skills by typing, texting, tweeting and TikTokking, new data warns.

“Parental techno-reference — regular disruption of face-to-face interactions between parents and children due to the use of a screen device — has an impact on child mental health, family relationships, and children’s cognitive development,” noted study authors from Estonia’s Institute of Psychology in a Sept. 11 report.

The investigative team, helmed by Dr Tiia Tulviste of the University of Tartu, surveyed over 400 families with children under age 5 to determine the damaging effects of a parent’s incessant use of phones, computers, tablets and TVs.

Researchers found that tots tend to mimic their parents’ device dependence — meaning the more mom and dad indulge in screen time, the more baby fiends for screens.

But parroting their parents ultimately stunts a little one’s vocabulary and grammatical growth.

The findings echo those of Drexel University analysts, who recently discovered that babies and toddlers with screen time privileges are more likely to display atypical sensory behaviors associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

And, at the top of the month, Sweden’s Public Health Agency proposed that children under 2 be forbidden from using electronic devices. The health authority argued that access to the technologies prompts poor sleep and mental health issues in tykes.

Tulviste’s research reinforces the recommendation — and suggests adults become more mindful of their machine usage, too. 

Alongside her co-authors, she polled 421 parents, asking them to estimate how long each member of the family usually spends using different screen devices for different purposes on a typical weekend day. Tulviste also asked how much of this time would be spent using a screen as a family — like watching a movie together.

All study participants then filled out a questionnaire evaluating their brood’s language abilities. Based on the responses, researchers categorized the parents and their kiddos in “high,” “low” or “moderate” screen-use groups.

After collecting the data, the scientists examined the language development of these children to find that children who enjoyed less screen time scored higher for both grammar and vocabulary.

No form of screen use, including family co-viewing time, had a positive effect on children’s language skills, per the results.

And video gaming — whether played by the mom, dad or youngster — was most notably negatively associated with the child’s language skills.

“While reading e-books and playing some educational games may offer language learning opportunities, Tulviste said in a release. “Research shows that during the first years of life, the most influential factor is everyday dyadic face-to-face parent-child verbal interaction.”