Spending a lot of time in front of screens can negatively affect the development of babies and toddlers.
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Tue April 21, 2020
In children who spent a lot of time in front of the television or other screens as a baby, symptoms typical of autism spectrum disorders were observed more frequently at the age of two. It was the same with children whose parents had played little with their babies.
Babies who sat in front of screens a lot at the age of twelve months showed four percent more symptoms at two years, which are observed with autism spectrum disorders. In contrast, such signs were nine percent less common in children who had played more with their parents. The results support recommendations that generally discourage screen time in children under 18 months unless used for personal video communication.
No screen time for babies under 18 months
“There are many studies that show the benefits of parent-child interaction for later child development. There is also a link between long screen time and developmental delays,” said Dr. Karen F. Heffler, researcher at the College of Medicine at the University of Philadelphia. “Our study extends this knowledge by linking early social and screen experiences to later autism-like symptoms.”
The authors point out that their study did not establish a connection with the risk of an autism spectrum disorder, but only with the corresponding symptoms. They advise parents to avoid television, tablets and other screens in children under 18 months of age and to limit use to one hour a day up to the age of five.
ZOU
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