Anne Malinoski
Your Baby’s Brain on Books Why it’s critical to reduce screen time for little ones Research indicates that modern babies are getting too much screen time—and this trend is harming their development. To learn more about the problem, we spoke with Tracey Tasker, MA, CCC/SLP, who provides early intervention speech therapy to families in the North Inland San Diego community. A resident of 4S Ranch and mother of four, and having attended more than 40 IEP meetings as a parent, Tasker loves helping families advocate for their children. Q. We know that children under 24
months old are spending too much time looking at screens. How big is the problem and what concerns you most about this trend?
A. A national poll found that 36
percent of children under 2 were given tablets to use and 38 percent were given smartphones. COVID has made a poor situation worse; in 2020 the number of children under 4 who spent four or more hours daily using electronic devices doubled. We are already starting to see declines in cognitive development for these children. A longitudinal study that was published before COVID found
that the more time children spent on screens between ages 2 and 3, the poorer their behavioral, cognitive and social development. Other issues from too much screen time include poor sleep, vision problems and obesity.
Resources for Screen-Free Family Time
Q. How does screen time interfere with
Screen-Free Parenting www.screenfreeparenting.com
A. The most important period of brain
Children’s Screen Time Action Network www.screentimenetwork.org
language development?
development occurs before age 3. We call this period of development the “sensitive period” because of the rapid growth of the brain and the density of brain cells and connections between those cells. The most important part of language development during the sensitive period is reciprocity (“serve and return”) between parents and children. Screens interrupt reciprocity—and research has found that an increase of just 30 minutes per day in mobile device use is associated with a 2.3 times increased risk of expressive language delay. Children need to move and use multisensory input to holistically learn about the world. When children learn words from a two-dimensional screen, they cannot take that information and apply it to the real world. For example,
20 • SNRFSD.org • SanDiegofamily.com • flourishing families 2022
Raising Dragons www.raisingdragons.com Hello, Wonderful www.hellowonderful.co Toddler Approved www.toddlerapproved.com Follow @BusyToddler on Instagram Find a great list of books for babies and toddlers at www.sandiegofamily.com/ for-the-kids/book-multimediareviews/interactive-fun-forbabies-and-parents.
