When your kids are in a bad mood and are about to cause a scene in the cereal aisle, you can keep your hands full with your smartphone or tablet and keep filling your cart.
But new research shows this quick fix can hinder children’s emotional development.
Researchers from Canada and Hungary followed 265 Canadian families with preschool-age children for a year, examining three aspects of self-regulation, a skill that children develop in early childhood.
The researchers focused on anger management, or how children deal with feelings of anger and frustration. Effortful control, the ability to concentrate and coordinate actions. And impulsivity is acting quickly without thinking.
Families completed questionnaires at the beginning of the study and again one year later assessing media use, child behavior, and parenting stress.
The results showed that increased use of devices as digital pacifiers had a negative impact on children’s self-regulation skills, making them less able to cope with their emotions on their own.
Parents who frequently used digital devices as calming tools reported that their children had trouble controlling anger and had decreased ability to concentrate and self-regulate.
Children with poor anger management skills at the start of the study were more likely to have parents who were dependent on digital devices a year later, creating a cycle that further negatively impacted children’s long-term development. Suggests.
So the next time your child throws a tantrum, think twice about handing them the device unless you want to deal with even more grumpy kids in the future. There will be grocery stores tomorrow too.
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