Study finds more screen time linked to lower test scores for elementary students

As a working mom of four kids, Anne Whitmore knows the allure of iPad screens all too well — that’s why she and her husband set some strict limits, allowing their kids only an hour a day on their devices after school.

After dinner, the tablets and phones go away, and there are no screens except a little TV watching. Despite her rules, Whitmore says it’s not always easy to avoid screens, or know how to manage them — especially when she’s working from her Surrey, BC, home and juggling her kids’ demands for entertainment.

“As parents, we are constantly grappling with how do we prepare our children for the future? How do we prepare them for the digital world, but also balance the need for a broader perspective and the other skills of critical thinking and social-emotional intelligence?” Whitmore told CBC News.

There are many reasons to be concerned – screen use is linked to poor mental health, poor sleep Aand not enough physical activityand accto order A new Canadian study comes out FridayAll that screen time can also impact school performance.

The study, conducted by a team from Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (also known as Sick Kids) and St. Michael’s Hospital, was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It found that children who spent more time on screens before the age of eight scored lower on standardized tests.

The study followed more than 3,000 children in Ontario over a 15-year period from 2008 to 2023, tracking how much time they spent watching TV or DVDs, playing video games, using a computer or playing on a handheld device like an iPad, as reported by their parents. That data was compared to their EQAO standardized test scores, which are used to assess the reading and math skills of children in grades 3 and 6 in Ontario.

According to Dr. Katherine Birken, a pediatrician and senior scientist at Sick Kids and lead author of the study, the findings point to a “significant association” between screen use and lower test scores.

In an interview with CBC News, Dr. Katherine Birken, a pediatrician and senior scientist at Sick Kids and lead author of the study, said, “For each additional hour of screen use, the likelihood of meeting standards in both reading and math was about 10 per cent lower… in grade 3 and math in grade 6.”

Screen time ‘can make it hard to concentrate’

The study did not differentiate between different types of screen time — for example, whether a child was playing a game on his iPad versus FaceTiming a relative in another city, or watching an educational video.

this was also An observational study that relied on parents answering questionnaires about how much time their children spent in front of screens. study outHorse notes that this means the research can’t be taken as definitive proof that screen time causes lower grades, just that the two things go together.

But Dr. Sachin Maharaj, assistant professor of educational leadership, policy and program evaluation at the University of Ottawa, who was not involved in the study, says the findings are consistent with a broader body of research showing that the more time children spend in front of screens, the worse they perform academically.

“All this (screen time) trains our attention in particular ways that can make it harder to concentrate for long periods of time. And that translates into learning, where if you can’t concentrate, it becomes harder to learn and think deeply,” Maharaj told CBC News.

Maharaj expects more expensese time on electronic devices It will also mean that less time is spent on other activities that may be more beneficial to children’s development – ​​things like interacting with people face-to-face, or being physically active outside, which have been proven linked to better academic performance,

Not about ‘shaming and blaming’ parents

These findings are no surprise to Whitmore. She is also chair of the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council and has heard repeatedly from classroom leaders that children are struggling because of screen use.

She says a principal recently shared an anecdote about a student who was falling asleep in class because they were up all night playing video games.AIIMS. And parents also tell Whitmore how much of a struggle it is to keep their kids away from their technology.

“It’s such a battle, you know, and kids can be relentless,” Whitmore said. “So it’s very tiring to maintain a boundary. And I think sometimes with parents, it’s very easy to give up.”

Many schools and colleges in OntarioThere are also school boards Sued big tech companies It has been said that the apps and sites of these companies are behind some of the apps which children are attracted towards like Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok.Children’s way of thinking made it difficult for them to learn.

But Birken notes that SThe purpose of the study is not to pairPeople feel bad about giving their kids screens.

“This is not an occasion to shame and blame,” he said, noting that finding ways to nudge children toward healthy use of screens should be a team effort between parents, teachers, doctors and policymakers.

According to Birken, further study is needed to better understand the effects of how different types of content impact children’s learning, she says there are some steps parents can take in the meantime.

She tells that The Canadian Pediatric Society recommends Steps such as prioritizing educational content and encouraging parents and children to use screens together to promote healthy media consumption.

Whitmore says that while her family’s one-hour rule isn’t perfect, it has worked well for them. She says providing your children with guidelines helps set them up for success and reduces arguments.

“It really helps to have some back and forth,” she said. “In our view, this is not negotiable.”