幼儿的屏幕时间和语言延迟

有一段时间了, we have been seeing an increasing trend concerning levels of developmental delay in toddlers. 起初, we thought that speech delay and emotional developmental delay were due to the pandemic, but more and more research is pointing to a different cause — screen time, 具体地说, the amount of time young toddlers are exposed to a screen.

More Screen Time Equals More Developmental Delays in Toddlers

最近的一次 研究 in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics Edition reported that more screen time in 1-year-old children was associated with developmental delays in communication and problem-solving at ages 2 through 4 years. Those delays were 具体地说 found in fine motor skills and personal and social skills. 它还与通信延迟有关. It shows that there is basically a dose-response in delays, meaning that the more a toddler was exposed to screen time, the more likely they were to have developmental delays. 

幼儿看屏幕时间指南：越少越好

The researchers cited both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics as recommending one hour per day of screen time for children ages 2 to 5. Limiting screen time is primarily to encourage young kids to have more physical activity and social interactions during critical development years rather than just sitting in front of a screen. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time before 18 months old.

Now, while those are the recommendations, any parent can tell you that's hard to do. 我是看PBS儿童节目长大的, 比如《大发娱乐提供》,”“电力公司,和《大发娱乐》.“像这样的节目还有几部. "Sesame Street" is still going strong, "Bluey" and Miss Rachel too. The one thing those shows all have in common is that they are educational. 它们有助于提高沟通技巧, 学习颜色, 形状, 和数字, 他们也教人生的课程.

Contrast these shows with what I see toddlers and preschoolers watching all the time in my office — videos on YouTube Kids where adults open packages of toys and play with them on screen. You just hear the adults talk, and you see their hands. Toddlers watch basically non-educational videos all the time, like animals who talk or short films that remind me of "America's Funniest Home Videos."

主动玩耍对幼儿很重要

研究人员发现了一个重要的问题. It wasn't so much that babies and 1-year-olds had screen time that caused their developmental delay, it was that kids who had more screen time seemed to have more delays in more areas. The one area that wasn't affected was gross motor skills. 但其他所有领域似乎都被推迟了. 我知道这反映了我在诊所经常看到的情况. I will be talking to a parent about developmental delays when I'm doing the screenings, 如果孩子开始哭闹, 家长拿出手机，放上视频. I've seen this in kids as young as 9 months old when the child will just sit there totally engrossed in whatever is on the screen, 这就是这项研究的内容.

幼儿和学龄前儿童就像小海绵. 他们需要有交流的机会, 学习语言技能, and learn fine motor skills by putting together toys and coloring. 如果给他们一个屏幕看, the opportunities for kids to learn these skills during their formative years are gone.

The bottom line is parents need to be mindful of this when they are looking for ways to interact with their children. They need to be present with their children and give them experiences, not just screens.