Early childhood television viewing and kindergarten entry readiness

Abstract

Background:Using a large population-based sample, this study aims to verify whether televiewing at 29 mo, a common early childhood pastime, is prospectively associated with school readiness at 65 mo. Methods: Participants are a prospective longitudinal cohort of 991 girls and 1,006 boys from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development with parent-reported data on weekly hours of televiewing at 29 mo of age. We conducted a series of ordinary least-squares regressions in which children's scores on direct child assessments of vocabulary, mathematical knowledge, and motor skills, as well as kindergarten teacher reports of socioemotional functioning, were linearly regressed on early televiewing. results: Every SD increase (1.2 h) in daily televiewing at 29 mo predicted decreases in receptive vocabulary, number knowledge scores, classroom engagement, and gross motor locomotion scores, as well as increases in the frequency of victimization by classmates. conclusion: Increases in total time watching television at 29 mo were associated with subsequent decreases in vocabulary and math skills, classroom engagement (which is largely determined by attention skills), victimization by classmates, and physical prowess at kindergarten. These prospective associations, independent of key potential confounders, suggest the need for better parental awareness and compliance with existing viewing recommendations put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Clinical and psychological effects of excessive screen time on children

“…The negative impact of TV viewing on physical development has been shown in children under 6 years of age. A prospective, longitudinal study that evaluated the relationship between TV watching at 29 months old and physical strength at 65 months of age in 1997 Canadian children reported that gross motor skills were reduced by high screen time …”

“…Similarly, a longitudinal study reported that children with higher TV viewing at 29 months of age exhibited less school readiness at 65 months of age. This manifested as decreased vocabulary and number knowledge scores as well as lower classroom engagement …”

24‐Month‐Old Children With Larger Oral Vocabularies Display Greater Academic and Behavioral Functioning at Kindergarten Entry

“…Parental mental and physical health problems are associated with cognitive and other delays in young children (Breaux, Harvey, & Lugo-Candelas, 2013). Toddlers and preschool-aged children who frequently watch television are more likely to enter school with lower academic functioning, particularly in reading (Pagani, Fitzpatrick, & Barnett, 2013). This is possibly due to television viewing displacing storybook reading (Koolstra & Van der Voort, 1996) and limiting growth in children’s cognitive and attentional capacities (Christakis, Zimmerman, DiGiuseppe, & McCarty, 2004).…”

Brain connectivity in children is increased by the time they spend reading books and decreased by the length of exposure to screen‐based media

“…By contrast, studies have shown that time that children spend reading traditional books has decreased to between 19 and 28 minutes per day . The documented negative effects of screen time, which includes the use of screen‐based media such as smartphones, tablets, desktop or laptop computers and television, include language delay , obesity , decreased readiness for kindergarten and other academic problems and exacerbation of attention deficit hyperactive disorder . It has been proposed that major drivers of these effects are decreased engagement with grown‐up caregivers and the displacement of active endeavours such as reading, homework and creative play .…”