Monday, May 8, 2017

Tablet use may delay child's speech @ New Research



Tablet use may delay child's speech @ New Research

If a toddler spends a lot of time playing on a mobile phone or tablet, it may delay when they start talking, researchers have warned.

New research, which will be presented on Saturday at the annual Paediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco, US, suggests that for every 30 minutes a child spent a day looking at a handheld screen, the risk of a delay in expressive speech was increased by 49%. Researchers studied 894 children aged between six months and two years in Toronto, Canada, over a three year period. By their 18 month check-up, 20% of the children spent roughly 28 minutes a day using a handheld device, according to their parents.

Using a screening tool, researchers found that the more the handheld screen time reported, the more likely the child was to have delays in expressive speech. There were no other apparent links between screen time and other communication delays, including social interactions and body language.

Dr Catherine Birken, the lead investigator in the study, said that although there are guidelines for limiting screen time for children “we believe that the use of smartphones and tablets with young children has become quite common“.

The study did not prove a direct cause and effect and the researchers called for further studies into the issue. 

Source | Times of India | 6 May 2017

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