New Delhi, September 12 (IANS) A research has revealed that children who spend more time on screens have weaker vocabulary. Video games have a negative impact on the brain development of children.
Scientists in Estonia surveyed the parents of more than 400 children about their screen use, their children’s screen use, and their children’s language skills.
The findings, published in Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, found that parents who spend a lot of time on screens are more likely to have children who use them.
“Research shows that the most influential thing during the first years of life is daily face-to-face verbal interaction between parent and child,” said lead author Dr. Tiia Tuleviste, from the University of Tartu in Estonia.
In a survey of 421 children aged 2.5 to 4 years old, the team asked parents to estimate how much time each family member spent using different screen devices per day. Parents were also asked to fill out a questionnaire to assess their children’s language ability.
The researchers divided both children and adults into three screen use groups, including high, low, and moderate.
They found that parents who use screens heavily tend to have children who use screens heavily as well.
Analysing the language development of these children, the team found that those who used screens less often scored higher in both grammar and vocabulary. No type of screen use had a positive effect on children’s language skills.
Reading e-books and playing educational games can provide language learning opportunities, especially for older children, Tulviste said.
“Using screens for video games had a negative impact on children’s language skills,” the researchers said.
-IANS
MKS/CBT
