Is using screens to calm a child bad?

CONTROL:  Using screens to soothe upset toddlers is often criticised, but new research suggests the real issue may not be screen time alone. A long-term study has found that parents’ mental health plays a crucial role in how technology affects children’s emotional regulation and cognitive development…

By Own Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Handing a distressed toddler a smartphone or tablet to calm them down has become a familiar parenting strategy.

But, new research suggests the long-term impact of this habit depends as much on parents’ wellbeing as it does on the screen itself.

A study led by researchers at The Ohio State University, published in the Journal of Communication, found that using technology to regulate young children’s emotions does not affect every child in the same way. Instead, the relationship between screen use and children’s cognitive development varies according to family circumstances, particularly parental mental health.

The research examined what scientists call “media emotion regulation” — the use of digital devices such as smartphones or tablets to soothe children when they are upset.

Lead researcher Jane Shawcroft, assistant professor of communication at Ohio State, analysed data from Project M.E.D.I.A., a long-term Brigham Young University study that followed children from the age of 2½ to 7½ years.

The study focused on the development of executive functions — the cognitive skills that help children manage behaviour, solve problems and adapt to changing situations.

Two key skills were examined:

·        Cognitive flexibility, which enables children to adjust to new situations, understand different perspectives and solve problems.

·        Inhibitory control, which allows children to resist impulsive reactions and make thoughtful decisions.

These abilities form the foundation for emotional wellbeing, academic achievement and healthy social relationships later in life.

Researchers tested whether screens influence these skills, whether children’s cognitive abilities affect how often parents rely on screens, or whether both processes reinforce each other over time.

For most children, the findings revealed a two-way relationship.

Children who were more difficult to calm were more likely to be given screens. That screen use then influenced the development of their executive functioning, which in turn affected how frequently parents relied on technology to soothe them.

“Children influence parenting, and parenting influences children’s development,” Shawcroft explained.

She said this finding offers several opportunities for intervention. Parents can make more deliberate decisions about when and how they use technology, while also strengthening children’s cognitive skills through activities that do not involve screens.

However, the researchers also identified two smaller groups whose developmental patterns differed.

One group, representing about 6% of children, displayed an unusual relationship between executive functioning and media use that researchers have yet to explain.

Additional data are being collected to better understand these children.

The second group, comprising roughly 7% of participants, revealed a more concerning pattern. In these families, children’s cognitive abilities did not predict how often parents used screens to manage emotional outbursts. Instead, technology use appeared to shape cognitive development without the usual feedback loop.

What distinguished these families was that parents were significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression.

“We found that parent mental health is a strong predictor of the way parents use technology with their young kids, because technology is a lever parents can pull when parents don’t have the resources to cope with their own poor mental health,” Shawcroft said.

Rather than blaming parents, she said the findings highlight the need for greater support.

Parenting young children can be overwhelming, and for many struggling caregivers, a digital device may be one of the few readily available tools to calm a distressed child.

The study argues that helping parents access better mental health support could ultimately improve children’s relationship with technology.

Researchers also recommend expanding community resources that help children regulate emotions without relying solely on screens, including safe outdoor spaces, mindfulness activities and stronger support networks involving relatives, neighbours and friends.

Shawcroft believes discussions about children’s screen time should move beyond judging parental choices and instead recognise that raising healthy children is a shared societal responsibility.

“I really wish the narrative around children and tech would be less about ‘it’s just a parents’ job,’ and more about this shared responsibility we have as a society to support children in this context we’ve built for them,” she said.

“If we want kids to be OK, part of that is helping their parents to be OK.”