Screen time and language delay in children: A cross-sectional study in a Southeast Asian country
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Abstract
Background: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study aimed to ascertain the: (1) prevalence of excessive screen device usage among children with speech and/or language delay, (2) age of first introduction of screen device(s), and (3) association between children’s total screen time and media parenting practices. Methods: 62 children aged 1-5 years who were referred for speech and/or language delay were recruited from a general paediatrics clinic. Data on children’s total screen time, age of exposure to screen device(s), parents’ total screen time and media parenting practices were collected. Results: 56 children (90.3) had excessive screen time. There was a high prevalence of excessive screen time with early exposure to screen devices. A significant positive relationship was found between parents’ and children’s screen time (p=0.010). Children’s screen time was negatively associated with parental encouragement of non-screen activities (p=0.006) and positively associated with parental reduction of screen time as punishment (p=0.015). Conclusions: Parents should model good screen time practices and create opportunities for non-screen based alternative activities within the home environment. Usage of screen time as a means of regulating behaviour should be discouraged. © 2022, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Article, Child, Child parent relation, Cross-sectional study, Encouragement, Female, Hearing impairment, Home environment, Human, Language delay, Major clinical study, Male, Questionnaire
Divisions
paediatrics
Funders
None
Publication Title
Journal of Health and Translational Medicine
Volume
25
Issue
2
Publisher
University of Malaya Medical Centre
Additional Information
Cited by: 0