“90% of brain development happens in those early years and they do set the foundation. The more rich experiences you have, the more positive networks you have. Of course it’s not just about learning stuff like numbers, letters and all those things, the more important thing is those social emotional connections,” said Professor Thorpe.
“It’s a lovely backwards and forwards between. If you park a kid in front of a TV and don’t talk to them that’s one thing, but if you sit with a child and you talk to them about what’s going on with the television it’s a way of teaching them.”
“It’s not so much about screens but it’s about are they vehicles for interaction or are they babysitters? And if they’re babysitters, it’s not going to be a good thing.”
It’s become a norm to see children preoccupied by screens when out with their caregivers in restaurants and cafes. These children have even garnered a name for themselves, the iPad kids. They become behaviourally difficult when separated from their devices and thus parents use the screens as a tool of pacification
Erica Profke, mum of a one-and-a-half-year-old, is conscious of the effects technology is having on young minds and is aiming to keep her son’s exposure limited for as long as possible.
“I don't believe in using screens as a method to distract their minds because I don't think that's beneficial for them and I think it creates more behavioural issues in the long term,” said Ms Profke.
But it’s not always easy. Judgement from other mums has her feeling reserved about openly sharing her opinions and parenting style.
“You get labelled a crunchy mom or an almond mom if you try to be proactive with these things.”
There are an overwhelming number of studies looking into how technology is affecting brain development of young kids, all concluding that too much screen time has been associated with a decrease in children’s cognitive abilities, including difficulty concentrating, hindering language development, decreased social interactions and behavioural difficulties.
Moreover, they find that kids are spending an increasing amount of time immersed in their screens, exceeding guidelines.
Matt Bradley, secondary school teacher and dad of three children aged 6 to 9 says his kids are already showing signs of addiction and has noticed increased irritability and behavioural issues the more time his children engage with technology.
“They're addicted to it. If I gave the opportunity and said, ‘do you want to play on technology all day long’, they'd say absolutely yes,” he said.
“If they're on there for more than 2 hours, they go stir crazy and then they get irritated and it one hundred percent affects their behaviour.”
“I really enjoy technology. I love to embrace it. But especially as a parent you need to have limitations and restrictions. You need to have boundaries which from an education perspective does not always exist. And that can have huge consequences further down the track.”
How are young children engaging with technology?
In a 2017 poll conducted by the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, it was found from a group of almost 4,000 childrenover a third of those preschool age had their own mobile device. 50% of those preschoolers and toddlers were using screens without supervision, with many parents stating they often gave their child a screen as an occupancy tool to get tasks done around the house. It was also reported 62% of parents experienced conflict with their children in relation to their screen usage and 61% of parents of preschoolers used screens to manage poor child behaviour when outside the house.
In comparison to the Australian Government’s recommendations of screen time for children it is evident kids are doubling this if not more with the time spent on a screen.
When looking at infant and toddler screen time in a prospective study in April 2023 it was cited that of 89,163 children only 24.7% of those aged 0-2 met the recommendations of daily screen time.
In 2021-2022 when looking at how children are engaging with cultural and creative activities outside of school the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found in a single week 90% of children were participating in screen-based activities with 24% of children spending more than 20 hours per week on screens.
Michelle Ducat, head of education statistics for the ABS said “of children doing screen-based activities, 40 per cent were spending 10-19 hours, but there has been an increase in the percentage of children using screens for more than 20 hours a week, from 16 per cent to 24 percent.”
There was also a decrease in the rates of creative activities such as reading, writing, dancing, musical hobbies, drama and more from the last media release compared to 2017-2018.
What are the experts suggesting to combat this?
Simon Smith, the UQ Node Director for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life more Course says children are exposed to technology and parents need to be conscious about how children are engaging with their screens
“If possible, parents should be engaging in technology alongside a child not just leaving them to their own devices. Make it part of an interaction with other people, other children and with carers to make it sort of make it fit into your household, not your household rotate around the technology,” he said.
It’s evident screens and technology have become a focal point in the average person’s everyday life. Giving parents the tools to know how and when to incorporate technology into their kids’ lives is an important step to help mitigate some of the negative effects technology can have on young minds.
For example, using technology in a collaborative environment eliminates isolation and further, increases the educational benefits technology can have. Researchers continually stress the importance of creating rich language environments for children’s cognitive and language development.
Technology doesn’t need to be labelled as black and white, good vs bad. Professor Thorpe suggests the key is to help parents understand how the brain develops and why those initial connections made are so vital to a child’s development.
“The simple message is, talk to your child and interact with them. Whether it’s with digital technologies or whether it’s with the television, or a book, the interaction itself is key,” she said.
“No technology is not generally good or bad. I’d send them to our stuff on brain building and the brain story. That the importance of interaction no matter what it’s about or where it happens is the important thing about developing children’s language and cognition.”
Deakin University provides three key tips for children interacting with screens.
The first is to be mindful of screen time. Keep in mind the screen time guidelines and set time limits to ensure your children are engaging in non-screen activities. Being mindful not only of screen time at home but also within school settings. As is the rule for most things in life, moderation is key.
Ensure your children are engaging in age-appropriate materials that are an aid to their education. Technology can be a useful tool to help develop a child’s fine motor skills.
One of the most widely recommended tips from scholars is to use technology collaboratively. Rather than giving a child a screen and leaving them to their own devices, talking kids through what they are experiencing and using it as a tool for education and communication can help mitigate some of the more negative effects and encourages rich language exchange.
Extra Resources for Parents –
Australian Guidelines for Physical Activity:
Raising Children Australia – Academics in the field have put material on this website and peer reviewed the information on this website:
Screen Time vs Story Time – how technology is impacting early childhood development
By Chelsea Phillips
A child’s development is never more important than in the first five years of life. How caregivers engage, socialise and teach their children is key for their brain to develop positive everlasting connections. But how we are interacting with children is ever evolving in the digital age.
A 2024 a study looked at how screen time impacts children aged 12 to 36 months and their child to parent communication and found that children are missing out on critical language development. For the average 3-year-old who engages in just one hour of screen time per day, they missed 397 adult words, 294 vocalisations and 68 conversational turns daily. It was further found that they are exceeding the one-hour guideline of screentime as set by the World Health Organisation and The Australian Government.
Karen Thorpe, Laureate Professor and Group Leader in Child Development, Education and Care at the Queensland Brian Institute at the University of Queensland explains how children can miss out on rich social interactions with those around them when they are immersed in a screen.