Screen time interferes with creation of talk-rich environment for children

Increased screen time among children may be hurting their opportunities to talk and interact in their home environment, according to a study from Australia.

The study included 220 families (mean gestational age of children 39.3 weeks, 54.6 percent girls, mean age of mother at childbirth 31.3 years). Researchers used advanced speech recognition technology to capture children’s screen time and home language environment on an average 16-hour day. Data were collected every 6 months in the family home when children were 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months of age.

The main outcome of interest was parent-child talk, which was measured three-ways: adult words, child vocalizations, and conversational turns. Linear mixed-effect models were used in the analyses, with adjustment for child sex, child age, maternal educational level, number of children at home, number of home activities, and primary caregiver’s psychological distress.

Results showed a negative correlation between screen time and measures of parent-child talk. The largest decrease in the measures of parent-child talk was observed at 36 months, when an additional minute of screen time contributed to a reduction of 6.6 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], −11.7 to −1.5) adult words, 4.9 (95 percent CI, −6.1 to −3.7) child vocalizations, and 1.1 (95 percent CI, −1.4 to −0.8) conversational turns.

The findings underscore the need for interventions aimed at promoting a language-rich home environment. Support should be given for families in order to understand the potential consequences of screen time in relation to the creation of a talk-rich environment at home, according to the researchers.