Why do parents use screen media with toddlers? The role of child temperament and parenting stress in early screen use

Shin, Eun-Kyung; Choi, Koeun; Resor, Jessica; Smith, C. R.

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101595

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…For this reason, engaging young children in screen-based activities may place less strain on parents, particularly in the context of increased distress during the pandemic. Indeed, toddlers’ lower effortful control has been indirectly associated with greater screen use ( Shin et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, research on 4–8-year-olds and older school-aged children has linked impulsivity and attention problems to more compulsive and problematic media use habits ( Gentile et al, 2011 ; Paulus et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2022

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Individual differences in effortful control, a component of temperament, reflecting the ability to use attention and other cognitive processes to self-regulate emotion and behavior, contribute to child academic adjustment, social competence, and wellbeing. Research has linked excessive screen time in early childhood to reduced self-regulation ability. Furthermore, research suggests that parents are more likely to use screens with children who have more challenging temperaments, such as low levels of effortful control. Since screen time by children between the ages of 0 and 18 has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains timely to investigate the developmental pattern of association between child screen media use and effortful control. We hypothesize that higher levels of screen media intake at age 3.5 will be associated with lower effortful control at age 4.5 and that lower effortful control at 3.5 will contribute to more screen media intake at age 4.5. This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers’ screen media use during the pandemic (N = 316, Wave 1). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 265, Wave 2). Analyses using a cross-lagged panel model revealed stability in child screen time and effortful control between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5. Child screen time at age 3.5 significantly contributed to decreased effortful control scores at the age of 4.5, whereas effortful control at age 3.5 did not contribute to screen time at age 4.5. Our results partially confirmed our hypothesis and indicated that higher levels of screen time intake were detrimental to the development of effortful control. These results suggest that screen media use, an exceedingly frequent activity, may play an enduring role in development by shaping young children’s temperaments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2022

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“…34 For instance, research has found that parents use media with toddlers as a short-term solution to manage tantrums and emotional outbursts. 17,35 Overtime, the use of screens by parents as an emotional regulation strategy may undermine children's ability to develop internal means of managing feelings of distress, regardless of their individual disposition toward anger and frustration. 34,36 As such, future research should address the additional role of timing and parental motives of media usage with young children.…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preschooler screen time and temperamental anger/frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2023

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Background In the context of increased media use and family distress during the pandemic, we examine whether preschooler screen time at age 3.5 contributes to later expressions of anger/frustration at 4.5, while also considering the inverse association. Methods Data are from a cohort of 315 Canadian preschool-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent-reported measures included child h/day of screen time and child temperamental anger/frustration, both measured at 3.5 and 4.5 years of age. Indicators of family distress include use of childcare and child sleep, family income, parenting stress, and parent education, marital and employment status. We also consider child sex as a control variable. Results A crossed-lagged panel model revealed continuity in screen time between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5 ( ß = 0.68) and temperamental anger/frustration from 3.5 to 4.5 ( ß = 0.60). Child screen time at age 3.5 predicted increased proneness to anger/frustration at age 4.5 ( ß = 0.14). Anger/frustration at age 3.5 did not predict screen time at age 4.5. Conclusion Our results suggest that preschooler screen time during the pandemic may have undermined the ability to regulate negative emotions, a key component of social and academic competence. Supporting parents in implementing healthy media habits post pandemic may benefit young children’s development. Impact Key message: this study observes prospective bidirectional associations between preschoolers screen time and temperamental displays of anger or frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic. What does it add: we provide evidence that preschool screen time at age 3.5 prospectively contributes to the tendency to react in anger/frustration at age 4.5. In contrast, greater proneness to anger/frustration did not predict later exposure to screen time. What is the impact: health practitioners should enquire about media use habits during well-child visits to foster children’s healthy development during the preschool years.

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“…showing that when parents have poor mental health, they report more parenting stress [24,93] . However, mothers who experience higher levels of parenting stress are more likely to require resources to help them reduce the demands of parenting [94] . By occupying their children with using media, media is likely to provide parents with time to cope with parenting stress, potentially lowering the demands of parenting [94] .…”

Section: The Mediating Role Of Parenting Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Distress, Parenting Stress, Maladaptive Parenting and Children’s Problematic Media Use in China: Evidence from 2022 Spring in Shanghai

Wang

Xiao

et al. 2023

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The COVID-19 lockdowns have forced young children to spend more time in front of the media and significantly impacted their mothers' mental health. This study explored how mothers' individual distress influences children's problematic media use during the Shanghai citywide lockdown caused by COVID-19. Data were collected from 1889 Chinese mothers (Mage = 34.69 years, SD = 3.94 years) with preschoolers aged 3–6 years (Mage = 4.38 years, SD = 1.06 years; 49.0% boys) via an online survey. The statistical analyses relied on SPSS Statistics version 26.0 and macro-program PROCESS 3.3. to investigate the associations and mediation analysis among all the study variables. The results indicated that: (1) significant associations between individual maternal distress with children's problematic media use; (2) maternal parenting stress and maladaptive parenting serial mediated the relationship between mothers' individual distress and children's problematic media use. The findings imply that parents need to enhance their ability to manage risk and promote mental health during periods of significant stress and routine disruption to reduce children's problematic media use.

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Why do parents use screen media with toddlers? The role of child temperament and parenting stress in early screen use

Cited by 25 publications

References 59 publications

Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Preschooler screen time and temperamental anger/frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 Distress, Parenting Stress, Maladaptive Parenting and Children’s Problematic Media Use in China: Evidence from 2022 Spring in Shanghai

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