Early Parental Education for Limiting Screen Time in Childhood

A recent study assessed the impact of focused parental education on limiting screen time in early childhood.

It enrolled 120 healthy children aged 9–10 months, born at term gestation, presenting for measles-rubella (MR) vaccination, and randomized Primary caregivers to either receive 30 minutes of in-person active counseling with pre-designed content targeted at reduction of screen time or to receive routine in-person counseling on general health measures. All caregivers were followed up and reinforced telephonically every month for six months. 

After six months, the researchers evaluated the number of children with screen time >1 hour/day and the median duration of screen time (minutes/day). They found

• After six months of follow-up, 3% of children in the Educational group had screen time > 1 hour/day compared to 53% in the Control group. 
• The median for total screen duration in the Educational group was 35 minutes/day, and 75 minutes/day in the Control group. 
• Children in the Educational group showed a significant change in behavioral scores and fine motor and adaptive skills compared to controls.

This study shows that parental education right from infancy is a promising intervention to lower screen exposure in children; which may also positively impact their developmental and behavioral skills.

Poonia Y, Khalil S, Meena P. et al. Parental Education for Limiting Screen Time in Early Childhood: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Indian Pediatr. 2024;61:32–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-024-3084-5