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Parenting style, the home environment, and screen time of 5-year-old children; the 'be active, eat right' study
Lydian Veldhuis1, Amy van Grieken2, Carry M Renders3
1Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Parenting style and home environment influence 5-year-olds' screen time. Establishing screen time rules and limiting devices in bedrooms are key to reducing excessive viewing.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Child Development
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing global concern, with increased screen time identified as a contributing factor.
- Parenting practices significantly influence children's screen time, yet research in this area is limited.
- Understanding the interplay between parenting and early childhood screen habits is crucial for developing effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between parenting styles and the home's social and physical environment with screen time in 5-year-old children.
- To explore how different parenting dimensions relate to television viewing and computer/game console usage.
- To identify environmental factors within the home that correlate with children's screen time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized baseline data from 3067 five-year-old children participating in the 'Be active, eat right' study.
- Assessed parenting styles, including dimensions like involvement, and the home's social and physical environment.
- Examined screen time, defined by hours of TV viewing and daily use of computers or game consoles.
Main Results:
- Higher parental involvement correlated with increased computer/game console use (>30 min/day).
- Authoritative or authoritarian parenting styles were associated with lower overall screen time compared to indulgent or neglectful styles.
- Presence of rules regarding screen time reduced TV viewing (>2 hrs/day) but increased computer/game console use (>30 min/day).
- Household number of devices and having devices in the child's bedroom were positively linked to increased screen time.
Conclusions:
- Parenting style showed a modest association with 5-year-olds' screen time.
- Social and physical home environment factors independently influenced children's screen time, irrespective of parenting style.
- Interventions should focus on supporting parents in setting screen time rules and discouraging devices in children's bedrooms for effective reduction.
Introduction:
The global increase in childhood overweight and obesity has been ascribed partly to increases in children's screen time. Parents have a large influence on their children's screen time. Studies investigating parenting and early childhood screen time are limited. In this study, we investigated associations of parenting style and the social and physical home environment on watching TV and using computers or game consoles among 5-year-old children.
Methods:
This study uses baseline data concerning 5-year-old children (n = 3067) collected for the 'Be active, eat right' study.
Results:
Children of parents with a higher score on the parenting style dimension involvement, were more likely to spend >30 min/day on computers or game consoles. Overall, families with an authoritative or authoritarian parenting style had lower percentages of children's screen time compared to families with an indulgent or neglectful style, but no significant difference in OR was found. In families with rules about screen time, children were less likely to watch TV>2 hrs/day and more likely to spend >30 min/day on computers or game consoles. The number of TVs and computers or game consoles in the household was positively associated with screen time, and children with a TV or computer or game console in their bedroom were more likely to watch TV>2 hrs/day or spend >30 min/day on computers or game consoles.
Conclusion:
The magnitude of the association between parenting style and screen time of 5-year-olds was found to be relatively modest. The associations found between the social and physical environment and children's screen time are independent of parenting style. Interventions to reduce children's screen time might be most effective when they support parents specifically with introducing family rules related to screen time and prevent the presence of a TV or computer or game console in the child's room.
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