GuelphToday reporter, Ariel Deutschmann, spoke with University of Guelph professor, Jess Haines, about her research on screen habits in families in the Guelph Family Health Study. Read the condensed version of this story that appeared on GuelphToday HERE.
GuelphToday: I appreciate you taking time today to talk to me about your research into managing screen time. I am really interested in terms of what your research has found and how you came to develop these tips?
Haines: Yeah, great! I'm the co-director of the Guelph Family Health Study, and the Guelph Family Health Study is a study following families with young children over time. We sort-of have two goals in the study. One, is we want to identify how the behaviors we do early in life are associated with disease risk later in life. Then, also importantly, what can we do to help families with young kids establish healthy habits early in life, that can carry them forward through life.
Our work is really interested in understanding what predicts how much screen time kids get, and particularly thinking about what do parents do? What activities or practices do parents do around screen time? And how does that influence their kids screen time?
So, some things that our research has shown that parents can do that help limit or reduce how much screen time their kids have, and one is setting limits. Actually having a specific limit seems to lead to less screen time for kids. Also monitoring the screen, so meaning not only setting a limit, but sort of following through with your limit, also seems to make a difference for kids.
We also looked at modeling, meaning how do parents use their screens. It looks like parents who use their screens more often in front of their children, those kids watch more. So, one of our recommendations is to be thoughtful as a parent. Try to model putting away your screens, being present with your kids, because that seems to lead to less screen time.
We also looked at screen time at mealtime. So do you use screens while you’re at the dinner table? Families that did report that they do that, their kids watched more screens. So that's another piece of our recommendation is to keep mealtime screen-free. Again, you can bring in the modeling, in that you can say, ‘You know? I'm going to put away my phone right now. We're going to share dinner, and we're going to do that where we can connect away from screens.’
The last thing we found was that when parents use screens as a way to try and control their children's behavior. Meaning giving it as a reward when kids do something that we like to see, or taking it away when they do behavior we don't want to see. Again, the families that do that it appears their kids watch more screen than families who don't use the screen as a reward. We're suggesting to use other things rather than to use the screen.
What we think is happening there with kids, is that when we highlight or use it as a behavior management tool, we're actually kind of glorifying screens, like, ‘Oh, this is what you get when you do things right!’ or, ‘This is what we're taking away!’ as opposed to it just being one of the many things that they can do in your home. So, our recommendation is to try and find other things to manage behavior, rather than to use screen time.
GuelphToday: In terms of screentime, because you guys study how these habits affect children's health and well-being later in life, did you notice how children's development is being affected by excessive screen time?
Haines: Our research actually hasn't focused so much on adverse impact, but there are certainly great researchers out there that have looked at that. What they have found is that young children, when we think about younger kids and the impact, young children who watch a high amount of screen, it can actually adversely impact their language development. So kids who watch a lot of screen may have slower development around language. There's also associations with higher screen time and lower academic outcomes, and so it can affect kids academic outcomes. When we look to teens, there is evidence to suggest that higher screen time can be associated with higher risk of depression and anxiety. So there certainly are adverse consequences when our kids have too much screen.
GuelphToday: It's especially important now given this pandemic with the rise of mental health alongside the rise in screentime use for everything from work to education.
Haines: Oh, absolutely. We did a survey of our families in mid April to mid May. One of the questions we asked, of course, was changes in health behaviors. Eighty-nine per cent of parents told us their kids are watching more screens. Parents too also reported being on screen more.
Not only do we need our screen now more than ever for things like work, and our kids in education, but a lot of the things that we would have done as alternatives to screen time were taken away from us due to physical distances. So things like taking your kids to a park, or all the organized activities they may have been involved in. It was, and remains, a fairly challenging time for family to navigate this world of screen with these challenges of the pandemic.
GuelphToday: From your tips, a lot of it seems to come down to just having a consistent routine that children and older adults can follow.
Haines: Oh, for sure, and routines have a great benefit. When we were pitching creating routines for families, we highlighted two key benefits. One is when you have a routine around screens, your kids tend to watch less of it. The other thing is, it can actually reduce the amount of angst and fighting around screen time if you have a routine. So, if kids know what's expected of them, they know that when they sit down to watch they only have an hour, as opposed to you coming in and sort of imploding on them, they get used to that being the routine.
It can actually reduce some of the fighting that can happen as we try to pull our kids off screen, which is a real challenge. Parents tell us a lot about that, that's one of the things they really struggle with is that undesirable behavior when we try to pull them off of that screen.
GuelphToday: I noticed in the release about this research, there was a mention of something called the ‘Digital Babysitter.’ I was just wondering if you could tap into what that means, and how does that affect the way that parents are able to impose constructive boundaries or limits that help children to have a better relationship with technology?
Haines: Yeah, so it's interesting. Our work is really trying to help support parents in creating healthy screen routines within their home. I've worked with colleagues, who will say things like, ‘We just need to tell them that they can't use TV as a babysitter, it can’t be a digital babysitter,’ But actually, you know, when we talk with parents, it’s one of the things that works the best. If you need young children to stay out of the kitchen while you're cooking, giving them a set of crayons is not nearly as effective as putting them in front of the TV.
So, we actually don't say you can never use the TV as a babysitter, because in fact, it may work. Meaning it might keep your kids safe or away while you need to get things done. What we say, going back to the idea of a routine, be thoughtful and strategic about when you use that time. If you need your kids out of the kitchen so that you can safely prepare a meal, make sure that you structure their day so that’s the time they get the screen. If you need to get some of your work, or schoolwork done, use it that way too.
As opposed to them just sort of watching without a routine, you’ve been really thoughtful about when do I need it, so that they are safe, and I can get something done. Then for the rest of the day, you can balance it with those other kinds of activities, where they move their body and engage with you, those sort of things. It surprises people when I say that, but I do not say ‘Never use it,’ I say, ‘Be strategic about how you use it.’
GuelphToday: Yeah, and that makes a lot of sense, in terms of safety and well-being. It's nice for parents, who may feel guilty about letting their children watch TV while they're making dinner, that it can be sometimes helpful incorporating technology to help in other aspects of family dynamics and living.
Haines: For sure! Then our point is just balance it, again, with those other activities. Balance it where you are engaging in a conversation face-to-face with no screen. Balance it with those times where they're moving their body and enjoying that. It can be a part of your routine, but in moderation is a healthy, sort of approach to it.
Part of our job as parents, our kids are going to be released into this world with all sorts of screens that are sort of ubiquitous, they're everywhere. And our job as parents is to help them learn how to manage them, right? What does balance look like? What does moderation look like? The more we can show them what that looks like, hopefully, the more they're ready to go out into the world on their own.
GuelphToday: Yeah, I guess as this pandemic goes forward to do you see it becoming more important that parents learn how to work with their kids and work with technology, rather than trying to 100% get rid of it, or any of those other traditional strategies?
Haines: Yeah, I love that question! There's a researcher, Michael Rich, at Harvard, and he calls himself a ‘Mediatrician’ because he is a pediatrician that studies media. He will do talks with parents, where they talk about how to manage the screen. He says at the end of his talks, sometimes parents will come up and say to him, ‘We don't have any screens. We have no screens in our house,’ and they say it with pride, but he actually says to them, ‘You need to go get some.’ Without them, we aren't really equipping our children on how to manage screens within their world.
Although, you know, I say this, and I say it's important to do, but I don't say it suggesting that it's super easy to do. It is actually quite challenging to manage all these screens, but I think it is an important aspect of helping kids figure out how to manage that.
GuelphToday: Yeah! For parents who feel overwhelmed with the amount of screens, or trying to get that right amount of screen time, are there any other tips you could offer for them in how to insert these routines? Or, how to maintain that feeling of balance without being overwhelmed by the task?
Haines: Great question! So, when we think about creating a routine, we always say start small. You don't have to, you know, overhaul everything all up once. What's your goal? Maybe you want to reduce screen time, or maybe you just want to start with let's make our meals screen-free, let's start there. So start small. Set a goal. Consistency is key. So do it every day, work towards it. Will you be perfect every day? No, but certainly keep trying.
Then the other thing we say about family level routines is get everyone involved. So bring everyone along, so you're not fighting against other family members. Talk about why this is important, practice it, do it. Then, as you master one of those routines, you make all your meals screen free. Next might be, let's try to reduce our screens for an hour, and then see what that feels like. So, start small, be consistent, and enlist everybody in your family to help make those routines happen.
GuelphToday: Nice! I like that. Start small, be consistent and enlist everybody in your family to help. Those are some really great tips!
Haines: Yes, and I say good luck to all parents because this is not easy!
