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With the increasing integration of technology into society, it is advisable that researchers explore the effects of repeated digital media exposure on our most vulnerable population—infants. Excessive screen time during infancy has been linked to delays in language, literacy, and self-regulation.
This study explores the awareness of and adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recommendations related to avoiding screen time for infants younger than 2 years and the motivational factors associated with screen time exposure.
A mixed methods survey design was used to gather responses from 178 mothers of infants younger than 2 years. The measures included infant screen time use and duration, maternal awareness of screen time use recommendations, and motivations related to screen time exposure. A variety of statistical procedures were used to explore associations between caregiver awareness of and adherence to AAP guidelines for screen time exposure, motivations related to screen time for infants, and the duration of infant screen time exposure.
The results indicated that 62.2% (111/178) of mothers were aware of the AAP screen time recommendations, but only 46.1% (82/178) could cite them accurately, and most mothers learned of them via the internet or from a medical professional. Mothers who were aware of the guidelines allowed significantly less screen time for infants than those who were unaware (
These results indicate 2 key approaches to improving adherence to screen time recommendations. First, the awareness of the AAP recommendations needs to be increased, which tends to improve adherence. Second, the myth that screen time can be educational for infants needs to be dispelled.
Exposure to screen time during infancy has become prevalent in the past few decades as advances in technology have merged with educational and entertainment products targeting infants and their caregivers. Informed by research showing that screen time can be detrimental to infant development, researchers and pediatricians recommend that children younger than 2 years be strictly limited in their screen time exposure or even better, have no sedentary exposure to electronic media at all [
Previous research has demonstrated that infants and toddlers gain more developmentally beneficial skills through play time with physical objects than through devices that use screens [
Empirical research on educational media suggests limited benefits for language learning, prompting some researchers to conclude that there are no beneficial effects of watching programs for children younger than 2 years [
When screen time reduces interaction with caregivers and other children, deficits in self-regulation and other forms of socioemotional learning can result. Self-regulation is a preacademic skill that undergoes great gains during infancy and toddlerhood [
To minimize the adverse impact of screen time on infants, multiple professional organizations recommend avoiding infant screen time exposure as much as possible. However, this approach has not resulted in widespread reductions in infant screen time. Despite research documenting the negative effects of screen time and the AAP recommending minimal screen media use for children younger than 2 years, parents continue to allow and even encourage its use by their infants and toddlers. Currently, it is unclear whether the lack of adherence stems from caregivers being unaware of these guidelines or believing that screen time has benefits for their families. To support more optimal child outcomes, our study explores the impact of awareness and caregiver motivation for screen time on infants’ screen time durations. By better understanding the context in which caregivers receive screen time guidelines, medical organizations and practitioners will have a better sense of how to advocate for reduced screen time more effectively and increase adherence to recommendations.
Caregivers use a variety of sources to gather information regarding the process of raising children, including for both immediate problems and general advice [
Although these few studies explore sources that caregivers commonly use, studies on parental awareness of the AAP screen time recommendations have produced mixed results. Funk et al [
A lack of awareness may not be the only factor associated with higher infant exposure to screen time. Parents exhibit a variety of motives in exposing their children to screen time in the early years, restricting access sometimes, whereas encouraging such use at other times. [
Major professional organizations focused on child health and well-being, specifically the AAP, have conducted reviews of research and published guidelines intended to foster best practices in raising young children [
Given the nascent stage of research on parental awareness and motivation for infant screen time use, we seek to apply a mixed methods survey approach (quantitative and qualitative elements) to further explore the variables of awareness, adherence, and motivation for screen media exposure among parents (mothers) of infants (age ≤2 years). We seek to investigate several research questions (RQs) as follows:
RQ 1: What is the level of awareness that parent caregivers express related to AAP’s recommendations on limiting screen time exposure for infants?
RQ 2: What is the level of adherence to AAP screen time recommendations by parent caregivers and does the level of adherence influence infant screen time exposure?
RQ 3: What is the association, if any, between parent caregivers’ awareness of AAP screen time recommendations for infants and adherence to such guidelines in parental behavior?
RQ 4: In circumstances of nonadherence to AAP screen time recommendations for infants, what are mothers’ motivations for allowing their young children to use screen media and does maternal education influence such motives?
RQ 5: Do parental motivation factors among parents not adhering to AAP screen time recommendations predict screen time exposure for their infants?
In exploring these questions, we anticipate some possibilities based on previous research and pragmatic considerations. With regard to awareness of AAP screen time recommendations, we suspect that although many caregivers have likely heard about such recommendations, there might be an inaccurate understanding of the guidelines [
Information for this study was gathered using a descriptive, cross-sectional design with a mixed measures approach (questionnaire) among a population in the upper midwestern United States. The survey included both quantitative and qualitative elements and was distributed via a web-based platform (Qualtrics; Qualtrics International Inc) to parents of at least one infant child between the ages of 0 and 2 years. To maintain consistency with previous research discussed in the literature review, fathers were excluded from our study, as most of the work in this area is only examined with primary caregivers, who are usually mothers. Collaborating entities in the research project were the Infant Cognitive Development Lab at North Dakota State University (NDSU), the NDSU Extension Service, and the Early Head Start program of North Dakota.
Approval for the study was obtained from the institutional review board of NDSU (HE19122).
A total of 178 mothers of an infant younger than 2 years were selected for inclusion in the final sample for the study. Potential participants were informed of the study and recruited for involvement via information shared through one of the collaborating entities. To be eligible for inclusion in the study, participants needed to be a female primary caregiver and care for an infant aged 0-23 months. Initially, a total of 220 individuals completed the survey. Individuals excluded from the final sample were those who were male (34/220, 15.5%), those who did not categorize themselves as primary caregivers (3/220, 1.4%), and those who did not complete the survey questions beyond the demographics section (5/220, 2.3%). Once these individuals were excluded, 80.9% (178/220) of the female caregivers of infants aged 0-2 years remained in the final sample.
Participants responded to a variety of demographic questions that included age, relationship to the infant, age of the infant, number of children, race or ethnicity, partnership status, education level, employment status, and annual family income. Of the 178 primary caregivers, nearly all reported their relationship to the target infant as biological mother or adoptive mother (174/178, 97.7%), whereas 1 (0.6%) each reported as stepmother, grandmother, aunt, and foster parent. Caregivers’ ages ranged from 18 to 56 years (mean 29.5, SD 5.57 years). Reported mean age of the focal infant was 12.5 (SD 6.62) months. In addition, participants had an average of 2.07 (SD 1.07) other children in the home. Remaining participant characteristics are presented in
Characteristics of caregivers of infants aged 0-2 years (N=178).
Caregiver characteristic | Value, n (%) | |
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White | 153 (85.9) |
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Black or African American | 6 (3.4) |
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Native American or native Alaskan | 8 (4.5) |
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Asian | 4 (2.2) |
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Hispanic or Latino | 4 (2.2) |
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Multiracial | 3 (1.7) |
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Married | 115 (64.6) |
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Single | 24 (13.5) |
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Significant other (not engaged) | 21 (11.8) |
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Significant other (engaged) | 14 (7.9) |
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Divorced or separated | 4 (2.2) |
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High school or equivalent degree or less | 33 (18.5) |
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Some college or associate degree | 52 (29.2) |
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Bachelor’s degree | 58 (32.6) |
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Postgraduate degree | 32 (17.9) |
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Other | 3 (1.7) |
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Not seeking outside employment | 39 (21.9) |
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Seeking employment | 6 (3.4) |
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Employed <25 hours per week | 18 (10.1) |
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Employed 26-39 hours per week | 22 (12.4) |
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Employed >40 hours per week | 93 (52.2) |
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0-20,000 | 34 (19.6) |
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20,001-40,000 | 29 (16.7) |
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40,001-60,000 | 27 (15.6) |
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60,001-80,000 | 24 (13.9) |
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80,001-100,000 | 29 (16.8) |
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>100,001 | 30 (17.3) |
aFive mothers opted to not provide their income details.
Collaborating partners distributed study information by emailing a project link and QR code to contact families, displaying flyers around the local area or offices, supporting local recruitment events, and making the survey available for eligible participants on an accessible computer in their office locations. A convenience sampling strategy was used and supplemented by purposive sampling with families eligible for the Early Head Start program to reach a population with broader socioeconomic backgrounds. Data were collected from May 2019 to January 2020.
The survey was made available electronically via Qualtrics, and participants were able to reach it via an email link or QR code specific to the survey. Mothers took the survey in a location of their choice, including the Infant Cognitive Development Lab or the Early Head Start program offices. Participants were prompted with a brief paragraph explaining the purpose of the study, an informed consent page, and a questionnaire link. The survey took approximately 15-25 minutes for participants to complete. Upon completion, participants were thanked and then provided a code word, which they could use to redeem for a compensation baby item at any of the collaboration sites.
Participant information was gathered through completion of a questionnaire that included questions regarding participant characteristics, infant screen media exposure, parental knowledge of media guidelines, and parental motivation related to infant media use. Responses were collected in various formats including Likert-type scales, short entry or drop-down lists, and short essay responses. This combination of approaches allowed mothers to answer some of the questions in their own words and provide insight into their awareness and thought patterns. A number of specific measures were used to assess participants’ responses.
To measure screen time exposure of infants, participants were asked to report the duration of the focal infant’s average daily screen time use in multiple-choice format with 5 options from 1 (
To assess caregiver awareness of the current AAP recommendations on screen time for children aged <2 years, participants were asked a multiple-choice question: “How did you find out about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation?” Six possible options included lack of awareness, unlisted source, or four other possibilities (medical professional, other community member, web, and book). First, responses were coded dichotomously as
To assess caregiver adherence to AAP infant screen time recommendations, participants were given a clear statement of current AAP guidelines on the topic and informed that parents often vary in following this guideline. Then, caregivers were asked, “How often do you adhere to this recommendation?” Response options ranged on a 5-point scale from 1 (
A slightly adapted version of the Parental Motivations Scale [
Results were calculated using the final sample of female caregivers (N=178). However, we noted that beyond the screening questions (eg, consent, having an infant younger than 2 years, gender of the participant, and indicating they were the primary caregiver), questions were elective, meaning that some caregivers may have opted out of answering certain questions. All analyses used raw scores and unedited short-answer responses. All quantitative analyses were conducted using SPSS 27.
For RQ 1, descriptive statistics were used to identify the number of caregivers who were aware of the AAP’s recommendations. Furthermore, brief thematic analyses of short-answer responses were coded on the basis of correctness and confidence level. Coding was completed by a primary investigator (SML) manually inserting responses into the corresponding categories within a Microsoft Excel file. After a thorough review of the coding was conducted by the secondary investigator (CAP), percentages were calculated for each category of correctness and confidence level. Finally, caregivers identified the sources from which they learned the AAP’s recommendations, and descriptive statistics provided the frequencies of each source.
For RQ 2, caregivers were told the current screen time guidelines for infants aged <2 years and asked about their adherence practices. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the caregivers’ adherence practices. Responses were dichotomized in which ratings of 4 (
Next, for RQ 3, we sought to identify whether there was an association between awareness of the AAP’s recommendations and parental adherence. Each of the relevant variables was coded as a dichotomous variable in this analysis, and a chi-square analysis was used to explore whether difference between adherent and nonadherent caregivers was significant owing to awareness. Furthermore, a univariate ANOVA was used to examine potential contrasts in infant screen time exposure between caregivers who were aware and those who were unaware of the guidelines.
For RQ 4, when examining parental motivation factors related to infant screen time exposure, a filter was applied in which only caregivers who indicated infant exposure to screen time were analyzed (86/172, 50%). Descriptive statistics were used to investigate the participants’ ratings for each parental motivation factor. Maternal education was another variable explored in this section, and this item was recoded dichotomously for analysis purposes (eg,
Finally, for RQ 5, we sought to identify the parental motivation predictors of infant screen time exposure. Linear regressions were conducted on each parental motivation factor with respect to infant screen time exposure as a dependent variable.
Mothers completed a number of questions in the survey that collected information about participant characteristics. Specific items included age, relationship to the infant, age of the infant, number of children, race or ethnicity, partnership status, education level, employment status, and annual family income.
Of the 178 participants, 172 (96.6%) participants responded to the survey question exploring their awareness of the current AAP’s recommendations on screen time for children younger than 2 years. Descriptive statistics indicated that many mothers were aware of the AAP’s screen time recommendations for infants (107/172, 62.2%). We conducted further qualitative analysis of responses to the question, “In your own words, what is the current American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation for use of digital media or television by children under the age of two?”
Of those who responded, 55.8% (96/172) showed full or partial awareness of the AAP screen time recommendations that was accurate. Results of this analysis demonstrate that 38.4% (66/172) of mothers knew the guidelines confidently and in their entirety (eg, “No screen time under the age of two” and “video chat with family members is ok, [but] should be limited. Everything [else] should be avoided.”). It is important to note that 7.6% (13/172) of mothers were correct but not confident in their knowledge of the guidelines (eg, “I believe it says very minimal or none?” and “I have no idea but I would guess none”). In addition, 9.9% (17/172) of mothers were partially correct (eg, “no TV at all” and “limit screen time or not have it at all”). The qualitative analysis further revealed that 30.2% (52/172) of mothers did not know the recommendations (eg, “I don’t know” and “less than one hour per day”). Finally, 14.5% (25/172) of mothers failed to answer the question, instead they either expressed their opinions or knowledge on the topic (16/25, 64%; eg, “Children learn best through play not media and videos” and “Unrealistic”) or gave nonapplicable responses (8/25, 32%; eg, “?” or “4-month-old baby”).
Participants responded to a follow-up question regarding how they learned of the AAP’s guidelines on infant screen time exposure. A substantial portion of mothers indicated they did not know about the recommendations at all (65/172, 37.8%); however, 3 out of 5 caregivers noted that they learned about the guidelines from a variety of sources (107/172, 62.2%). Most mothers in this group read about the AAP recommendations on the web (41/172, 23.8%), closely followed by being informed by a medical professional (38/172, 22.1%), and then followed by awareness via other sources such as news, Facebook, or childcare centers and so on (20/172, 11.6%). A few respondents learned the guidelines from someone other than a medical professional (6/172, 3.5%) or they read about them in a book (2/172, 1.2%).
A second RQ investigated the adherence of infant caregivers to AAP screen time recommendations and whether such adherence influences daily infant screen time exposure. Participants (172/178, 96.6%) read a statement that clearly stated the AAP recommendations (eg, “children under the age of two should not use any digital media or watch television”), a sentence that explained parents vary in adherence to this guideline, and then were asked how often they adhered to this recommendation on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (
Adherence to the AAP’s recommendations on screen time exposure for infants was recoded into a dichotomous variable as
To investigate the effect of caregiver adherence to the AAP recommendations on self-reported screen time exposure for infants, a univariate ANOVA was conducted to compare adherent and nonadherent mothers. The univariate ANOVA yielded a significant difference in infants’ average daily screen time exposure between parents who adhere and those who do not adhere to the AAP’s guidelines (
The next RQ in this study explored whether there is any association between caregiver awareness of AAP screen time recommendations for infants and adherence to such guidelines in parental behavior. To further examine this question, we conducted a chi-square analysis of the association between caregiver awareness of AAP screen time recommendations and adherence to such AAP guidelines in allowing infant screen time exposure.
Chi-square analysis indicated that there was a significant association between parents’ awareness of the AAP screen time guidelines and parents’ adherence to them (172/178, 96.6%;
The next RQ explored parental motivation factors for allowing their infant to use screen media in circumstances of nonadherence to the AAP screen time recommendations for young children. In addition, we investigated whether maternal education influences such motives.
Using the subsample of caregivers who reported not adhering to the AAP guidelines (86/172, 50%), descriptive statistics were computed for each of the 5 parental motivation factors developed by Cingel and Krcmar [
We also sought to explore whether any differences existed in parental motivation factors based on maternal education level. A dichotomous variable for education level was created with two levels (lesser than a bachelor’s degree and a bachelor’s degree or higher) as an independent variable. There were 62% (53/86) of caregivers in the low education category and 38% (33/86) of caregivers in the high education category. Five dependent variables, consisting of the 5 parental motivation factor subscales, were used in the statistical analysis. There were no outliers in the data based on visual inspection, scores for the factors showed approximately normal distribution based on visual inspection of the Normal QQ Plot, and the assumption of homogeneity of variances was met using Levene test for equality of variances. The significance level for
The final RQ explored the parental motivation factors for allowing an infant to be exposed to screen time and whether any of the factors predict actual screen time exposure for children. Each of the parental motivation factors was identified as an independent variable for this analysis, with the dependent variable being the average hours of screen time exposure per day (128/178, 71.9%).
Regression analyses were conducted to identify whether any of the parental motivation factors were predictive of screen time exposure during infancy. Results including unstandardized coefficients, SEs,
Linear regressions between average infant screen time per motivational factor.
Parental motivation factor | B (SE) | β | ||
Educational benefit | −0.05 (0.06) | −.10 | −0.94 (123) | .35 |
Ask or enjoyment | 0.07 (0.08) | .13 | 0.90 (123) | .37 |
Chores | −0.07 (0.07) | −.14 | −1.04 (123) | .30 |
Reward | 0.06 (0.05) | .13 | 1.19 (123) | .24 |
Relax | 0.03 (0.09) | .05 | 0.32 (123) | .75 |
The overall goal of this study was to determine the degree to which the parent caregivers were aware of the AAP recommendations regarding screen time exposure to infants and toddlers; their adherence to the guidelines; and, if they did not adhere, their reasons for not following the guidelines and any association with infant screen time use. This information can be used by those involved in pediatric, public health, family support, educational, and other settings supporting children and families.
It is important to note that the COVID-19 pandemic could be amplifying or altering the existing discrepancies between the current screen time recommendations and parental awareness, adherence, and motivations for allowing screen time use for infants. Although these data were gathered before the beginning of the pandemic, the Infant Cognitive Development Lab is preparing a manuscript that explores parental motivations during the pandemic period (S Lammers, unpublished data, February 2022).
Our initial RQ sought to explore the degree to which parents were aware of the AAP’s guidelines for no sedentary screen time use by infants younger than 24 months (the AAP recommendations during the period the data were collected) [
Upon further investigation of participants’ understanding of the AAP guidelines through a qualitative approach, we discovered that only 38.4% (66/172) of mothers were able to accurately state them. However, there were also many mothers who had a general idea that screen time should be limited but were not fully confident of their knowledge (13/172, 7.6%) or aware of the degree to which such restrictions should be applied (17/172, 9.9%). These findings indicate that although most mothers are initially indicating their awareness of the AAP guidelines; a smaller number of them accurately and confidently understand the screen time recommendations for infants younger than 2 years. This pattern suggests the need to reiterate the guidelines in a concise and clear manner with the goal of increasing mothers’ comprehension of the guidelines. Moreover, our results further indicate that maternal awareness of such guidelines is not simply an
It is noteworthy that >2 out of 5 mothers in this sample (52/172, 44.2%) were unaware of the AAP’s recommendations, as it suggests there is a continuing lack of awareness about the topic of screen time use during infancy. If we generalize the results regarding maternal awareness from this study to the general adult population of the United States, which has a population of 260 million adults in 2020 [
Our study findings also provided insight into how caregivers gain awareness of the AAP guidelines on screen time exposure, with those who were aware of it citing web-based information as a key source (41/172, 23.8%). This is consistent with research suggesting the internet as a common source of parenting information for mothers [
This study further explored the level of caregiver adherence to the AAP screen time guidelines for infants, the link between awareness of the guidelines and adherence to them, and whether such adherence influences infant screen time exposure. Although organizations such as the AAP publish such guidelines to encourage best practices in raising children [
In addition, both parent reports of adherence and infant screen time use were related to caregiver awareness of the AAP recommendations. The chi-square analysis indicated that those caregivers who were clearly aware of the AAP recommendations were different in their adherence patterns to screen time recommendations for infants than caregivers who were largely unaware of it. Among caregivers who were aware, approximately 59.8% (64/107) of them adhered to the AAP guidelines with their infant, whereas only approximately 34% (22/65) of mothers who were unaware limited infant screen time exposure. Thus, those who were clearly aware of the guidelines were more likely to restrict screen time for infants. This finding reiterates the need to increase efforts to expand such awareness. Further analysis showed that mothers who were aware of the AAP guidelines allowed significantly less screen time than those who were unaware of the recommendations. However, although awareness seemed to increase compliance with the guidelines, it did not entirely deter parents from allowing some screen time. Our investigation of parental motivations for allowing screen time helped to further explain this finding.
In circumstances where parents do not adhere to AAP screen time recommendations for infants, we sought to understand the reasons why mothers allow infant screen time exposure and whether maternal education influences these motivations. Previously, research on this topic has suggested a range of parental motivations for allowing screen use by young children [
This belief is a moderately troubling misconception. Several studies have demonstrated that infants do not transfer skills they learn on a screened device to the real world, thus furthering the argument for limiting sedentary screen time. In addition, studies with infants show deficits in learning when information is presented in video format rather than from a live individual [
In addition, the next two highest parental motivation factors for allowing infant screen time were for infants’ enjoyment of the screened device-based activities (mean 3.76, SD 1.66) and the mothers’ need to do chores around the house (mean 3.62, SD 1.63). These findings were extremely consistent with those of Cingel and Krcmar [
We also sought to explore whether differences existed among maternal caregivers by education level with regard to how they rated parental motivation factors for allowing infant screen time. Does a mother’s level of education shape her attitudes toward allowing infant screen time when such behavior is discouraged by AAP recommendations? In this study, the 3 motivation factors of educational benefits for infants, the infant’s enjoyment, and doing parental chores were not statistically different by maternal education level. However, mothers who were less educated endorsed infant screen time to reward a child or to help a child relax significantly more than mothers who were more educated (ie, above vs below a bachelor’s degree). This finding may suggest that mothers with a higher education level possess a better understanding of the negative effects associated with screen time exposure during infancy. Therefore, highly educated mothers may be more likely to refrain from using screen time as a tool to calm or reward children, instead using methods that resemble parenting best practices to accomplish these tasks [
The final RQ explored in this study was whether any of the identified parental motivation factors for allowing infant screen time exposure were predictive of screen time use during infancy. Brown and Smolenaers [
The study findings shed light on caregiver awareness of guidelines from the AAP for infant screen time, their adherence to such guidelines, and factors linked with allowing infant screen time exposure. Clearly, the AAP issues such guidelines to educate parents and caregivers, as well as to promote child health and well-being [
Among the study findings, it was noted that some parents believe that exposure to screen time before the age of 2 years is actually beneficial to their infant’s well-being and development. Perceived educational benefit was rated by parents as the top motivational factor for allowing infants screen time. Thus, some parents incorrectly conclude that screen time provides opportunities to enhance their infant’s learning, when instead it often replaces the time spent exploring and interacting with their environment—activities that research shows enhance overall development [
In considering policy implications, it seems important to note that the advertisements for many media companies target children in the infancy age range. Parents and caregivers who are uninformed may assume that their children learn from products that promote the use of devices with screens. In some countries, this type of false advertising is banned. Multiple health organizations have made statements that discourage parents from exposing their children younger than 2 years to screen time, including in the United States, Australia, Canada, and France [
However, it should also be noted that there are contradictory statements regarding screen time use during infancy that perhaps make the decisions around screen time use for infants more confusing and problematic for parents. For example, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in the United Kingdom has made policy statements that counter the guidelines set by the AAP and the World Health Organization. The RCPCH [
A few limitations of this study ought to be considered. First, as participants were recruited using a convenience sample, there were limitations in the representativeness of the data. Information was collected in a limited geographic region with a moderately homogeneous population. Therefore, the results may be less generalizable outside the United States or to other regions of the United States. In addition, the sample was limited by restricting eligibility to only female primary caregivers. Additional research with an expanded, more diverse population is advisable to strengthen the understanding of the topic beyond this study.
As with all self-report measures, there is also a possibility of social desirability influencing results, particularly relating to reports of adherence to guidelines and use of screen time. We attempted to reduce this bias by asking questions about the AAP guidelines after we asked participants to estimate screen time, rather than priming them with information about the guidelines. Finally, screen time estimates for this age group may benefit from a more fine-grained analysis, perhaps using increments of 15 minutes instead of the 1-hour range that we used here.
In summary, this study indicates that mothers of infant children have a mixed awareness of AAP guidelines on screen time. Furthermore, half of the caregivers in this study (86/172, 50%) adhered to the guideline in restricting access to screen time, whereas the other half did not and cited multiple parental motivation factors for allowing infant screen time exposure. Both parental awareness of the AAP guideline and adherence to that guideline were linked with greater likelihood of limiting an infant’s average daily screen time. More highly educated mothers were less likely to endorse certain reasons for allowing infant screen time, such as to help children relax or to reward them, but otherwise, parental motivations for allowing infant screen time did not differ by level of education. Furthermore, parental motivation factors did not predict the average daily screen time exposure of infant children. The findings suggest the importance of extending beyond policy statements to ensure that parents have a clear and informed understanding of recommendations for child well-being that are provided by groups such as the AAP. In doing so, it is hoped that recommendations based on current research can truly be leveraged to enhance parenting best practices and give infant children greater opportunities for enriched learning and positive developmental growth.
Added screening and exploratory questions in the parental motivations scale.
American Academy of Pediatrics
North Dakota State University
Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health
research question
This study was supported through a partnership between the Infant Cognitive Development Lab at North Dakota State University (NDSU); NDSU Extension; and the Office of Early Learning, Department of Human Services: State of North Dakota. The authors would like to thank the research assistants at the Infant Cognitive Development Lab at NDSU; the administrators and staff of the Early Head Start program in North Dakota, who assisted with various aspects of the research project; and the parents who participated in the study. This study was supported by funding from NDSU Extension.
None declared.