While the exact causes remain a matter of speculation, it is thought that excessive electronic device screen time among the very young and possibly the lingering impact of the coronavirus-related lockdowns of 2020 and reduced in-person socialisation are likely key factors driving the trend.

Developmental delays

Maria Riestra-Quintero, president of the Florida Head Start Association, who spoke at an Aug. 9 conference in Miami, talked to the Florida Catholic, Miami's archdiocesan news outlet, about her concerns.

"We have seen an increase recently in children with all sorts of developmental delays — mainly in speech and language, and we think it has to do with use of tablets in the early years," she said.

She added that 90 percent of the brain "develops in the first five years of life and with a (electronic device) tablet a child doesn't have a feedback loop."

"If we are having a conversation I am asking you questions, you are responding to me then that is what we call a feedback loop and that develops receptive and expressive language," said Riestra-Quintero.

She is the assistant director of early childhood programs in the Head Start/Early Head Start Division of Miami-Dade County's Community Action and Human Services Department.

She refers to the screen time usage guidelines set forth by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, which has detailed recommendations on managing a child's screen time according to age.

Screen time includes interaction with smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, TVs and computers.

How much screen time?

The Academy recommends:

Until 18 months of age limit screen use to video chatting along with an adult (for example, with a parent who is out of town).

Between 18 and 24 months screen time should be limited to watching educational programming with a caregiver.

For children 2-5, limit noneducational screen time to about one hour per weekday and three hours on the weekend days.

On average, children ages 8-12 in the United States spend four to six hours a day watching or using screens, and teens spend up to 9 hours.

Too much screen time can be harmful

While screens can entertain, teach and keep children occupied, too much use may lead to problems, according to the academy.

The results of overuse can include sleep problems, poor academic performance, poor reading habits, less social time, reduced outdoor and physical activity, obesity, mood problems, and poor self-esteem and body image issues.

"If you use a tablet there is receptive language but not expressive language, so you cannot express yourself," Riestra-Quintero said.

"You are listening, you are taking in, but when it's time to express your feelings, your emotions and to be able to communicate we are seeing that many students are coming in with a greater gap since COVID," she said. Read more

• Tom Tracy writes for OSV News from Florida.

The research was published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) Pediatrics.

It tracked 220 Australian families over two years to measure the relationship between family screen use and children's language environment.

Families recorded all the audio around their child using advanced speech recognition technology over a 16-hour period on an average day at home.

They repeated this process every six months between the ages of 12 and 36 months.

The lead researcher was Dr Mary Brushe from the Telethon Kids Institute.

"The technology we use is essentially like a Fitbit, but instead of counting the number of steps, this device counts the number of words spoken by, to and around the child," she said.

The device also picked up electronic noise, which the researchers analysed to calculate screen time.

The researchers found young children's exposure to screens including TVs and phones interfered with their language opportunities, with the association most pronounced at three years of age.

For every extra minute of screen time, the three-year-olds in the study were hearing seven fewer words, speaking five fewer words themselves and engaging in one less conversation.

The study found the average three-year-old in the study was exposed to two hours and 52 minutes of screen time a day.

Researchers estimated this led to those children being exposed to 1,139 fewer adult words, 843 fewer child words and 194 fewer conversations.

Because the study couldn't capture parents' silent phone use, including reading emails, texting or quietly scrolling through websites or social media, Brushe said they might have underestimated how much screen usage is affecting children.

A language-rich home environment was critical in supporting infants and toddlers' language development, Brushe said.

While some educational children's shows were designed to help children's language skills, very young kids in the age group of the study could struggle to translate television shows into their own life, she said.

This study did not differentiate between whether children were watching high- or low-quality screen content.

Previous research in the area had relied on parents self-reporting their own and their child's screen time, and only studied short periods of time.

"To our knowledge, no studies conducted since the rapid uptake of mobile phones and tablets have actually tracked children's screen time and their early language experiences over an extended period of time," Brushe said. Read more

• Natasha May is a health reporter for The Guardian newspaper.

Many families want to set ground rules to help them reduce their screen time - and have time to connect with each other, without devices.

But it can be difficult to know where to start and how to make a plan that suits your family.

First, look at your own screen time

Before telling children to "hop off the tech", it's important parents understand how much they are using screens themselves.

Get the best book reviews, essays, and debates in one free weekly email.

Globally, the average person spends an average of six hours and 58 minutes on screens each day. This has increased by 13 percent, or 49 minutes, since 2013.

Parents who report high screen time use tend to see this filtering down to the children in their family too. Two-thirds of primary school-aged children in Australia have their own mobile screen-based device.

Australia's screen time guidelines recommended children aged five to 17 years have no more than two hours of sedentary screen time (excluding homework) each day.

For those aged two to five years, it's no more than one hour a day. And the guidelines recommend no screen time at all for children under two.

Yet the majority of children, across age groups, exceed these maximums.

A new Australian study released this week found the average three-year-old is exposed to two hours and 52 minutes of screen time a day.

Some screen time is OK, too much increases risks

Technology has profoundly impacted children's lives, offering both opportunities and challenges.

On one hand, it provides access to educational resources, can develop creativity, facilitates communication with peers and family members, and allows students to seek out new information.

On the other hand, excessive screen use can result in too much time being sedentary, delays in developmental milestones, disrupted sleep and daytime drowsiness.

Too much screen time can affect social skills, as it replaces time spent in face-to-face social interactions. This is where children learn verbal and non-verbal communication, develop empathy, learn patience and how to take turns.

Many families also worry about how to maintain a positive relationship with their children when so much of their time is spent glued to screens.

What about when we're all on devices?

When families are all using devices simultaneously, it results in less face-to-face interactions, reducing communication and resulting in a shift in family dynamics.

The increased use of wireless technology enables families to easily tune out from each other by putting in earphones, reducing the opportunity for conversation.

Family members wearing earphones during shared activities or meals creates a physical barrier and encourages people to retreat into their own digital worlds.

Wearing earphones for long periods may also reduce connection to, and closeness with, family members.

Research from video gaming, for instance, found excessive gaming increases feelings of isolation, loneliness and the displacement of real-world social interactions, alongside weakened relationships with peers and family members.

How can I set screen time limits?

Start by sitting down as a family and discussing what limits you all feel would be appropriate when using TVs, phones and gaming - and when is an appropriate time to use them.

• Have set rules around family time - for example, no devices at the dinner table - so you can connect through face-to-face interactions.
• Consider locking your phone or devices away at certain periods throughout the week, such as after 9pm (or within an hour of bedtime for younger children).
• Seek out opportunities to balance your days with physical activities, such kicking a footy at the park or going on a family bush walk.
• Parents can model healthy behaviour by regulating and setting limits on their own screen time. This might mean limiting your social media scrolling to 15 or 30 minutes a day and keeping your phone in the next room when you're not using it.

When establishing appropriate boundaries and ensuring children's safety, it is crucial for parents and guardians to engage in open communication about technology use.

This includes teaching critical thinking skills to navigate online content safely and employing parental control tools and privacy settings.

Parents can foster a supportive and trusting relationship with children from an early age so children feel comfortable discussing their online experiences and sharing their fears or concerns.

• First published in The Conversation
• Elise Waghorn is a lecturer at the School of Education, RMIT University, Melbourne