Amid a growing range of video content for toddlers and small children, experts are warning about the impact on their learning abilities later in life. — Photo: Christin Klose/dpa
NEW YORK: Children who spend too long looking at screens run the risk of failing to live up to their potential at school, according to the results of a 15-year study.
"Higher levels of screen time in early childhood are associated with lower scores in reading and mathematics," say a team of researchers based at hospitals in Canada, which at the same time observed that writing skills were largely unaffected.
An hour of daily screen time is "associated with a 10% drop in the likelihood of achieving higher academic levels," the team found, after comparing data from parents on screen time with performance in reading and maths tests by some 3,300 schoolchildren in Ontario.
Published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, the findings suggest the need for "early interventions to reduce screen time exposure" to help "enhance academic achievement in elementary school," according to the researchers.
"Screen time is a part of everyday life for most families, and high levels of exposure, particularly to TV and digital media, may have a measurable impact on children’s academic outcomes," said Catherine Birken of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto
The findings provide "important insights into how early childhood experiences – like screen time–can influence academic achievement," according to Jennifer Hove, a director at the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), which administers the school tests used as part of the study.
The team said there is a need for further research to determine the effects of particular categories of screen time and "the type of content kids are watching." – dpa
