Maternal knowledge explains screen time differences 2 and 3.5 years post-intervention in INFANT.

Area of Science:

• Child Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Screen time habits are established early and track over time.
• Few interventions examine long-term mechanisms for sustained effects on early childhood behaviors.
• The Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (INFANT) previously showed positive effects on television viewing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mechanisms maintaining intervention effects on television viewing.
• To assess sustained intervention impacts on maternal knowledge and children's screen time at long-term follow-ups.
• To explore the link between maternal knowledge and children's television viewing habits.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the cluster-randomised INFANT trial.
• Employed causal mediation analysis to examine intervention mechanisms.
• Assessed television viewing via questionnaire and measured mediators post-intervention in 262 infant/mother pairs.

Main Results:

• Maintained positive intervention effects on maternal television viewing knowledge at 2- and 3.5-year follow-ups.
• Observed indirect intervention effects on reducing children's television viewing time via improved maternal knowledge.
• Demonstrated a dose-response relationship between maternal knowledge and reduced child screen time.

Conclusions:

• Early, low-dose interventions can significantly improve maternal knowledge regarding screen time.
• Sustained improvements in maternal knowledge are linked to reduced television viewing in young children.
• Educating parents on screen time is crucial for establishing long-term healthy habits in children.