A recent study of toddlers in Switzerland found that children’s screen use time is positively associated with the stress of their parents. Toddlers whose parents reported experiencing more stress tended to use screen media more. This link was stronger in parents with more positive attitudes towards screen media. The study was published in Computers in Human Behavior.
Screen media are any visual media displayed on electronic screens. This includes a wide range of digital content such as television shows, movies, video games, and online videos. These media are accessed through devices such as televisions, computers, tablets, and smartphones. Over the past century, screen media gained a very prominent role in entertainment, education, and communication, offering users a diverse array of content from informative documentaries to interactive gaming experiences.
However, the use of screen media by children has come under significant scrutiny due to concerns about its potential impact on their health, development, and behavior. Children are being exposed to screen media from a very young age, with some starting to use these devices as early as a few months old.
Research from Germany indicates that toddlers aged 2-3 years spend, on average, about an hour daily on these media. As children grow, their screen time tends to increase. While screen media serve as useful tools for entertainment, education, and staving off boredom, there are studies suggesting that excessive use can negatively affect children’s sleep patterns and may be linked to other adverse outcomes.
In their new study, Valerie Brauchli and her colleagues wanted to explore the link between parental stress and children’s screen use time, as well as the impact parental attitudes towards screen media have on this link. . Parental stress refers to the pressures and challenges parents face in raising their children, often arising from the need to juggle childcare, work, financial responsibilities, and personal well-being. The researchers hypothesized that higher levels of parental stress would correlate with increased screen time among children, particularly among parents with favorable views of screen media.
The study involved 462 parents of children up to 3 years of age and spanned 10 months, with data collected from parents on four different occasions. The majority of participants were from Switzerland, with 93% being mothers. The average age of the parents was 36 years, and the children, comprising roughly equal numbers of girls and boys, had an average age of 16 months at the start of the study.
Data collection was part of the “Children and Digital Media” research project, conducted between March 2021 and January 2022. During this period, parents filled out online questionnaires over nine consecutive days in what were termed “diary weeks.” These weeks began on a Friday with an email questionnaire, followed by daily logs of children’s activities and focus topics, concluding with a final questionnaire the following Saturday.
Throughout the diary weeks, participants reported on their children’s screen time, parenting stress (using the Parental Stress Questionnaire), and attitudes toward screen media through statements such as “I find it good when [Child’s first name] uses screen media,” “It is important for children to learn how to use screen media responsibly as early as possible,” and “Children must learn to use screen media as early as possible.”
Results showed that at times when parents reported experiencing more stress, they also reported their children spending more time using screen media. Screen use time was also associated with parental attitudes towards these media. Parents with more positive attitudes towards screen media allowed their children much longer use.
The relationship between parental stress and children’s screen time was found to vary with parents’ attitudes toward screen media. For instance, parents with a negative view of screen media allowed their children an average of 9.5 minutes of screen time during low-stress periods, which slightly increased to 10 minutes during high-stress periods. Conversely, parents with positive attitudes toward screen media permitted their children 17.5 minutes of screen time under low stress, which rose to approximately 28 minutes under high stress.
Older children were observed to spend more time on screens, though screen media use was not linked to parental education or income levels.
“Overall, both parenting stress and parental attitudes toward young children’s screen media use were associated with children’s screen time. In addition, more positive parental attitudes toward children’s screen media use in early childhood tended to strengthen the link between parenting stress and children’s screen time. The findings from our study indicate that young children’s screen media use may play an important role in helping parents cope with parenting stress. Consequently, screen media may be used as a modern pacifier by some parents,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on an important parenting practice. However, it should be noted that all save a few participants were Swiss. Results might not be the same on other cultures. They may also be somewhat different in older children.
The paper, “Are screen media the new pacifiers? The role of parenting stress and parental attitudes for children’s screen time in early childhood“, was authored by Valerie Brauchli, Fabio Sticca, Peter Edelsbrunner, Agnes von Wyl, and Patricia Lannen.
