Screens are EVERYWHERE these days. As you walk past the bus stop, sit in a restaurant, shop for groceries, and wait for appointments, you notice that almost everyone is glued to some kind of screen. Whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or TV, it seems impossible to avoid.

As speech-language pathologists (SLPs), we often hear questions from parents and educators about screen time. Adults who have children or work with children are overwhelmed with the availability (and clever advertising) of different apps, shows, and channels, many of which claim to support language learning in young children.

**My recommendation may be unpopular: I don’t recommend any apps, websites, shows, or ANY screen time for language development in early childhood (around ages 0-3).**

Here’s why…

Limitations of Screen-Based Language Learning

While certain “educational” apps and programs claim to teach language skills, research indicates that they most likely are not as effective as we hope. A 2022 research review found that increased screen time is associated with lower language development in children. [1] Yes, children might learn to imitate words or phrases from screens; however, this doesn’t translate to meaningful communication. Another study from 2023 study published in BMC Public Health found that high mobile device screen time of one hour or more per day was significantly associated with poorer language development scores and higher odds of language delays in children [2]. True language learning involves understanding context, tone, facial expressions and reponsive interactions. It is necessary to learn the back-and-forth nature of conversation—all elements that screens cannot replicate. Engaging in conversations, storytelling, and play not only introduces new vocabulary but also teaches nuances of communication, such as turn-taking, topic switching, asking and answering questions, and learning social cues. Screens do not replace the benefits of face-to-face communication.

The short-term gain of some word & phrase imitations* are not worth the long-term effect of the addictive nature, lower overall language development, and behavioural problems that arise from excess screen time. We need real interactions with the 3D world - and real humans - to make sense of and learn about our surroundings.

It’s worth noting that even background TV / screen time can “adversely affect a child’s language usage, executive functioning, quality of their play, language acquisition, attention, and cognition in children younger than 5 years of age.” [3]

**Impact on Behaviour and Mental Health**

Many children who receive excess screen time experience behavioral problems. In my clinical experience of almost 7 years as an SLP, every family that cut back or cut out screen time mentioned that their child’s behaviour improved. Yes, all of them.
Negative effects can establish very early: one study showed that increased TV exposure between 6 - 18 months of age was associated with emotional reactivity, aggression, and externalizing behaviours (behaviours directed at the outside world, such as physical violence, damaging items/property) [3].
When children are constantly handed a screen to self-regulate, we rob them of the opportunity to learn this necessary skill. Self-regulation skills actually begin to develop very early.
Learning to cope with reasonable wait times, learning to wait for others, understanding the passage of time, dealing with difficult emotions, and learning how to entertain oneself are all highly important developmental skills that will continue to develop with age - let’s allow children to learn instead of pacifying them with screen use.

Impact on Physical Health

Excessive screen time has raised the likelihood that children will experience physical health problems, such as obesity and sleep problems [3].

**Cognitive Development and Impact on Academics**

Screen time habits can be hard to break. As children age, negative impacts of excess screen time can grow, such as:
difficulties with executive functioning (attention, short-term memory, inhibition, organization, planning, time management, etc),
sensorimotor development, and
poorer academic outcomes.
For older children, some of these negatives (for example: inhibition, working memory) may not be simply due to the screen time content itself, but also the “media multitasking” , which can be defined as multi-tasking between 2 or more types of media, or between media and non-media activity (ie. social media use while doing homework) [4]

Children under 3 are not cognitively or developmentally able to learn, absorb, and translate “educational” material to the real world.

New apps are released every day, many claiming to be “educational” , and deceptive marketing preys on families. Screens that are too fast-paced are entertaining for the novelty, but don’t allow a child to actually learn. Most apps aren’t designed to be educational - they are designed to be addictive and popular.

Screen time for older children

While screen time at an early age has negative effects on language development, beginning screen time at a later age has some potential benefits. For older children, there are developmentally appropriate learning tools, such as apps or videos, that can serve as effective educational content.

More on this soon in upcoming Screen Time Series blogs!

Conclusion

Screens should not be relied upon for language learning in early childhood. Evidence strongly suggests that real-life interactions are far more effective in promoting robust language development. Creators of apps and shows for infants often use misleading advertisements and are not focused on education: they want you to keep watching/playing. By focusing on engaging, responsive communication in the early years, a child has the best opportunities to learn language skills.

In upcoming blogs, I will share suggestions to break unhealthy screen habits, and list some potential benefits for older children (there is a light at the end of this tunnel!)

References

[1] Karani NF, Sher J, Mophosho M. The influence of screen time on children's language development: A scoping review. S Afr J Commun Disord. 2022 Feb 9;69(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.4102/sajcd.v69i1.825. PMID: 35144436; PMCID: PMC8905397.

[2] Rayce, S.B., Okholm, G.T. & Flensborg-Madsen, T. Mobile device screen time is associated with poorer language development among toddlers: results from a large-scale survey. BMC Public Health 24, 1050 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18447-4

[3] Muppalla SK, Vuppalapati S, Reddy Pulliahgaru A, Sreenivasulu H. Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development: An Updated Review and Strategies for Management. Cureus. 2023 Jun 18;15(6):e40608. doi: 10.7759/cureus.40608. PMID: 37476119; PMCID: PMC10353947.

[4] Susanne E. Baumgartner, Wouter D. Weeda, Lisa L. van der Heijden, and Mariëtte Huizinga. The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Executive Function in Early Adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence 2014, Vol. 34(8) 1120–1144

Screen Time Series, Part 1: “Which app will get my toddler talking?”

Practice makes Progress: home practice with YOU is a big help!