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Screen time of toddlers in Paris suburbs: Quantitative and qualitative analysis
Sylvie Dieu Osika1, Ludmila Issaeva2, Emmanuelle Boutin3
1Jean Verdier Hospital, Bondy, France.
Insights
French toddlers (12-36 months) have significant screen exposure, with YouTube being popular. Parental factors, like using screens to calm children, strongly influence this, highlighting the need for early education on screen time effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Child Development
- Media Studies
Background:
- Screen time exposure in young children is a growing concern.
- Understanding moderating factors is crucial for developing effective interventions.
- Early childhood screen habits can have long-term implications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe screen exposure patterns (time, content, age of first exposure) in French children aged 12-36 months.
- To analyze sociodemographic data, parental screen time, and other factors influencing child screen exposure.
- To identify key correlations between child screen time and various environmental and parental factors.
Main Methods:
- An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted.
- Data was collected via 171 questionnaires from parents of children aged 12-36 months in the Paris region.
- Statistical analysis, including multivariate analysis, was used to identify correlations.
Main Results:
- Median screen time was 1 hour/day, primarily television. Median age of first exposure was 12 months, with YouTube being a leading platform.
- Children often selected content independently (33%) and without parental guidance (66%). Screens were used during meals (25%) and before bed (12.3%), with 8.8% having screens in bedrooms.
- High screen time correlated with child's age, parental screen time, and background TV. Using screens to "calm the child" was a strong predictor. Book reading was associated with less screen time.
Conclusions:
- Parental awareness regarding the negative effects of early screen exposure on cognitive and emotional development is critical.
- Interventions during the maternity period can effectively educate parents on managing screen time.
- Early prevention strategies in healthcare settings can mitigate potential risks associated with screen exposure in young children.
Background:
Our aim was to describe the exposure of French children aged 12-36 months to screens (time, content, age of first exposure) and to analyze different moderating factors: sociodemographic data, parents' screen time, and other factors (childcare arrangements, language spoken at home, book reading).
Population And Methods:
We conducted an observational, cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study based on 171 questionnaires from parents of children aged 12-36 months who consulted different hospitals in the Paris region during the summer of 2020.
Results:
The median screen time was 1 h per day and was essentially television time. The median age of first exposure for children was 12 months. Among the most-watched sites, YouTube was in first place. One third of the children chose the content they watched alone, and the majority did so without any parental guidance (66%). Children watched a screen during mealtime every day in 25% of cases, before bedtime in 12.3% of cases, and 8.8% had a screen in their bedroom. More than one third of families left the television on in the background most of the time. In the multivariate analysis, a high level of screen time was notably linked to the child's age, the parents' screen time, and background television. However, the parental reason for exposure "to calm the child" was the most strongly correlated factor with significant child screen time. Reading books appeared to be a determining factor for less screen exposure.
Conclusion:
These results emphasize the importance of raising parents' awareness about the potential negative effects of screen exposure (particularly on children's cognitive and emotional development) as early as possible during the maternity period. Implementing this prevention in the maternity wards could be an effective way of informing and educating parents about the potential negative effects of screen time on their child's development.
