Children exposed to television during family meals often have delays in their cognitive development.
- Prolonged exposure to screens harms the cognitive development of young children according to a new study from INSERM.
- Having the television on during family meals at the age of 2 slows down language development.
- Television adds background sound which, when superimposed on family discussions, will make it difficult for the child to decipher the sounds.
According to a new study, there is a detrimental relationship between screen exposure time and children’s cognitive development. Analyzing data from participants ages 2 to 5, researchers found that the more screen time, the lower the overall cognitive development scores. Specifically, the areas of fine motor skills, language, and independence seemed to be most affected by excessive screen exposure.
Cognitive development of children and the influence of television
However, the researchers also found that the impact of screen exposure varied depending on family life context, taking into account factors such as socioeconomic level, parental education level and daily activities of the child. ‘child. They then observed that the negative relationship between screen exposure time and cognitive development was attenuated: “The results of the study also show that, independently of exposure time, having the television on during family meals at the age of 2 (which concerned 41% of children) was associated with poorer performance scores. language development at the same age. These children also had poorer overall cognitive development at 3.5 years of age.“, explains Shuai Yang, doctoral student and first author of the study for INSERM.
One of the interesting findings of this study is the link between exposure to television during family meals and early language development in children. The researchers managed to demonstrate that children most exposed to television during meals had lower linguistic development compared to those who were not exposed. This underlines the importance of turning off the television as much as possible during family meal times in order to encourage discussions at the table and thus encourage varied language learning among children: “This could be explained by the fact that television, by capturing the attention of family members, interferes with the quality and quantity of interactions between parents and child. However, this is crucial at this age for language acquisition.before continuing: “in addition, television adds background sound which, when superimposed on family discussions, will make it difficult for the child to decipher sounds and limit verbal understanding and expression.”
Cognitive development of children: other factors to consider
The results of this study suggest that screen time is not the only factor to consider when assessing the impact on children’s cognitive development. The context of exposure, such as the family setting and the child’s daily activities, also plays a significant role: “The first years of life are decisive for cognitive development, but also in the establishment of lifestyle habits, explains Jonathan Bernard. When a child uses a screen excessively, he does so to the detriment of other activities or social interactions essential for his development“.
While this study provides important information about the impact of screen exposure on children’s cognitive development, the researchers emphasize that longer-term studies are needed to assess the cumulative impact of these effects. By better understanding these effects, it will be possible to put in place more effective preventive measures to preserve the cognitive development of children from early childhood to adolescence.
