Young children are increasingly exposed to digital devices. However, the effects of screen time on a child's emotional and cognitive development are still debated and remain largely unknown.
Understanding more about how exposure to such devices is crucial, as early childhood is a critical time for children to learn basic self-regulation skills. In the current study, researchers investigated how using digital devices to manage temper tantrums in children- referred to as parental digital emotion regulation- affects how children regulate their emotions in later life.
For the study, the researchers asked 265 parents to fill out a questionnaire that assessed child and parental use of media when their children were an average of 3.5 years old, and once again a year later when they were 4.5 years old.
Ultimately, they found that more parental digital emotional regulation when children were 3.5 years old was linked to higher anger and lower effortful control a year later. Effortful control has been defined as the ability to override an automatic response with a deliberate one.
The researchers further found that high levels of anger at 3.5 years old, but not impulsivity and effortful control, predicted higher levels of parental digital emotion regulation a year later.
“It’s not surprising that parents more frequently apply digital emotion regulation if their child has emotion regulation problems, but our results highlight that this strategy can lead to the escalation of a pre-existing issue,” said first author of the study, Dr Veronika Konok, a researcher at Eötvös Loránd University, in a press release.
“Tantrums cannot be cured by digital devices. Children have to learn how to manage their negative emotions for themselves. They need the help of their parents during this learning process, not the help of a digital device," she added.
The researchers pointed out that parents should not avoid potentially frustrating situations for their children. It is instead recommended that they coach their children through difficult situations and help them recognize and handle their emotions.
They additionally noted that new training and counseling methods could be developed for parents, and that increasing awareness about how digital devices are inappropriate tools for curbing temper tantrums could benefit children's mental health and wellbeing.
Sources: Neuroscience News, Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
