Wellness Watch: How Screen Time Can Impact Children Under 3

A new study finds that screen time at a young age could lead to sensory challenges down the road.

Research from Drexel University shows children exposed to greater TV viewing by their second birthday were more likely to develop atypical behaviors like sensation seeking, sensation avoiding, and slower responses by just 33 months old.

Pediatrician Dr. Theresa Horton joined News On 6 to explain what this means for parents.

Stacia: And you're the one who brought this to our attention. Tell us more about this study and what these findings mean?

Dr. Horton: Well, we've known for a very long time that screen time does cause problems in children with language. So it's very interesting to see this one come out.

What they looked at, is screentime in children under 12 months, and then again at 18 months and 24 months, and then what their behavior, like even up to almost three years of age. Any screen time at all, under 12 months of age, increased sensory problems by over 100%.

And then after a year of age between 18 to 24 months, if it was introduced, then increased more by about 20-25%. What we're seeing with problems like that is, like you said, extra sensory seeking and avoiding but in atypical manners.

So children may want to seek out by spinning or looking for colors or playing with their food instead of eating it if they are sensory seeking, if they're avoiding, they may be hypersensitive in a sort of loud noise may send them crying from the room, they may not want to make eye contact, they may not want to eat, they may get very upset with any sort of different new texture or touch.

Stacia: So if we start to notice these, these changes in our child after they've been watching a TV show for entertainment, you know, it's kind of nice to turn it on at times and have some a moment but leading to too much of it is this, could this be course corrected? Is there anything like once you notice these issues should parents speak to their pediatrician,

Dr. Horton: I do highly recommend if you're seeing anything like this, that you do speak to your pediatrician, things can always be improved later, and screen time should be weaned down. If you're noticing too much. If the child is little, if your baby is a year or 18 months, you can just stop the screens. But when they get older, it's a little harder to do that. So you would want to start limiting and decreasing the amount of time making it a bit of maybe a strict schedule and providing the many other opportunities for different types of activities. It's so good for their brains to have all sorts of different sensory toys and simple things, playing with boxes and spoons and blocks and playing outside.

Stacia: So much better than TV time. Thank you so much for joining us today. Just real quick. Is there any safe amount of TV time for kiddos under the age of one?

Dr. Horton: Under the age of one? No, it's zero. Between one to 18 months, it's still recommended to be none 18 months less and up to five less than an hour a day and preferably with parents talking to them and interacting them with them and explaining things.