For parents dealing with the challenge of managing their children‘s screen time, recent research from University of California-San Francisco has unearthed strategies that are not only effective but also highly applicable in our daily lives: keeping screens away from bedrooms and mealtimes and leading by example at home. These findings are a ray of hope for parents, offering tangible solutions to a common issue.
Researchers from analyzed 12—to 13-year-olds’ non-school screen use, such as gaming, texting, social media, video chatting, watching videos, and browsing the internet, and whether they found it problematic.
They also asked parents about screen use in front of their kids, how they monitored and limited their kids’ screen time, and if they used screens as rewards or punishments. Additionally, they asked about screen use during meals and in the child’s bedroom.
The study revealed a direct correlation between screen use in bedrooms and during meals and increased screen time and addictive use. However, it also highlighted the significant impact of parental involvement. When parents actively monitored and limited their children’s screen time and set a positive example themselves, the children’s screen use decreased, underlining the crucial role of parents in this context.
Parents can help by keeping screens out of their children’s bedrooms and turning off devices and notifications overnight. These findings offer practical strategies for parents of tweens and teens:
- Set limits on screen time.
- Keep track of usage.
- Avoid screens in bedrooms and during meals.
The study examined how parenting strategies recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) affect screen use in tweens aged 10 to 12. It’s one of the few studies focusing on early adolescence when kids become more independent.
Researchers focused on young adolescents because this is when mobile phone and social media use often increases, shaping future habits. The researchers surveyed 10,048 U.S. participants, including 46% racial or ethnic minorities, from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Parents rated their agreement with statements like, “My child falls asleep using a screen-based device,” on a scale of 1 to 4.
The researchers found that higher parental agreement on allowing screens in bedrooms or at mealtimes predicted increased children’s daily screen time. For each point related to bedroom screen use, screen time increased by 1.6 hours and by 1.24 hours for screens at mealtimes. Poor parental modeling added 0.66 hours.
However, parents’ limiting and monitoring screen time reduced it by 1.29 hours and 0.83 hours, respectively. Using screen time as a reward or punishment could have been more effective and led to 0.36 more hours of screen time and more problematic video game use.
While screens can be beneficial for maintaining social connections, excessive use, especially in children, can lead to mental health issues, physical inactivity, and sleep problems.
Jason Nagata, MD, a pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and the study’s first author, said, “Screen time at bedtime displaces sleep time, which is essential for health and development in young adolescents. Parents can consider keeping screens outside their children’s bedroom and turning off devices and notifications overnight.”
Journal reference:
- Nagata, J.M., Paul, A., Yen, F. et al. Associations between media parenting practices and early adolescent screen use. Pediatric Research. DOI: 10.1038/s41390-024-03243-y.