Excess screen use by toddlers lowers education prospects, study shows

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.