Global Prevalence of Meeting Screen Time Guidelines Among Children 5 Years and Younger

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Pediatric guidelines suggest that infants younger than 2 years avoid screen time altogether, while children aged 2 to 5 years receive no more than 1 hour per day. Although these guidelines have been adopted around the world, substantial variability exists in adherence to the guidelines, and precise estimates are needed to inform public health and policy initiatives.OBJECTIVE To derive the pooled prevalence via meta-analytic methods of children younger than 2 years and children aged 2 to 5 years who are meeting guidelines about screen time.DATA SOURCES Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase up to March 2020.STUDY SELECTION Studies were included if participants were 5 years and younger and the prevalence of meeting (or exceeding) screen time guidelines was reported.DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Data extraction followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Two independent reviewers extracted all relevant data. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to derive the mean prevalence rates. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Prevalence of meeting screen time guidelines.RESULTS From 63 studies, 95 nonoverlapping samples with a total of 89 163 participants were included. For children younger than 2 years, the pooled prevalence of meeting the screen time guideline (0 h/d) was 24.7% (95% CI, 19.0%-31.5%). Moderator analyses revealed that prevalence of meeting screen time guidelines varied as a function of year of data collection (increased over time), measurement method (higher when questionnaires compared with interview), and type of device use (higher when a combination of screen use activities compared with television/movies only). For children aged 2 to 5 years, the mean prevalence of meeting the screen time guideline (1 h/d) was 35.6% (95% CI, 30.6%-40.9%). Moderator analyses revealed that the prevalence of meeting screen time guidelines varied as a function of type of device use (higher when screen time was television/movies only compared with a combination of screen use activities). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThe findings of this meta-analysis indicate that only a minority of children 5 years and younger are meeting screen time guidelines. This highlights the need to provide support and resources to families to best fit evidence-based recommendations into their lives.

The Impact of Digital Screen Time on Dietary Habits and Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents

“…Kaur et al also found that approximately 60% of children aged 2–5 years old had excessive screen time and did not follow AAP recommendations [ 18 ]. Thus, it now appears almost implausible to comply with recommendations on screen time for children [ 7 , 10 , 19 , 20 ].…”

“…However, a recent systematic review which performed a meta-analysis of 63 studies revealed that only 24.7% of children younger than 2 years of age and 35.6% of children aged between 2 and 5 years old met screen time guidelines [ 7 ]. Differences were noticed in children’s adherence to appropriate screen time depending on the country [ 8 ].…”

Relationships between screen viewing and sleep quality for infants and toddlers in China: A cross-sectional study

“…In our study, 26.9% of the infants and 61.4% of the toddlers did not comply with the latest WHO guideline on screen time ( 3 ). A review included 63 studies with 89,163 participants to explore the global prevalence of children's screen time ( 29 ). This review concluded that approximately 75.3% children younger than 2 years old and 64.4% of the children aged 2–5 years did not meet the screen time guideline ( 29 ).…”

“…A review included 63 studies with 89,163 participants to explore the global prevalence of children's screen time ( 29 ). This review concluded that approximately 75.3% children younger than 2 years old and 64.4% of the children aged 2–5 years did not meet the screen time guideline ( 29 ). Our study highlighted the need to offer corresponding education and resources to parents to fit the guideline recommendations into their lives.…”

Pädiatrie aktuell – Forschung kurz notiert

“…Eine in JAMA Pediatrics publizierte Metaanalyse ist der Frage nachgegangen, inwieweit die Empfehlungen bezüglich Bildschirmzeiten für Kleinkinder adäquat berücksichtigt werden [ 4 ]. Dafür wurden 63 Studien mit insgesamt 89.163 Teilnehmern analysiert.…”