LIFE as we know it has evolved over the years from talking to texting, playing to gaming, and parenting to screen time.

From the moment children are born, parents begin to track their milestones, from rolling over to sitting up, taking their first step, and saying their first words. The problem that most parents recognise too late is that they begin to interrupt the developmental process by the simple introduction of tablets and smartphones in their child’s daily life.

Many parents find themselves faced with the predicament of their children growing normally but not developing the speech, language, and social communication skills expected of them, particularly when compared to their same-aged peers.

Many parents would be alarmed to know that the very screen time they use to pacify and occupy their child’s attention with so-called “educational programming” is, in fact, the very thing that is interrupting and derailing the processes of development they swore it would help to develop. From before children are even able to speak parents place them in front of television sets and handheld devices to minimise crying, movement, and to simply keep children from disturbing them and others during adult day-to-day activities.

This, unfortunately, is done with little to no awareness of the developmental delay that can be initiated as a result. This was most recognisable during the COVID-19 pandemic when it was noted that children’s development did not change, but their environments did. Little or no social interaction with their peers and wider community members and limited social stimulation at home when most parents were preoccupied with working from home was the new bubble in which they were forced to live.

Parents utilised screen time to keep children occupied so they could get work done, or to simply keep them from going crazy. This has sadly led to speech, language, and social communication delays. More than 50 per cent of the paediatric clients that I see in my speech therapy clinic were born shortly before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. All parents report the same history: early introduction to screens (as early as three months old), unlimited screen-time usage, and resulting concerns of delayed speech and language onset.

Equally as alarming is the associated behaviour reported, which includes overt and unusual tantrums, very limited attention spans, minimal ability to sit still without fidgeting or becoming agitated, and hyper activity mirroring symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The ill practice of parents introducing screen time to children ages zero-three prompted the American Academy of Paediatrics to issue screen time guidelines and recommendations based on scientific research conducted. The recommendations are as follows:

• children ages 0-18 months — absolutely no screens!

• children ages 18-24 months — less that one hour screen time per day

• children two-five years old — maximum one hour screen time per day

• children six years and older — up to 1.5 hours screen time per day

Children typically begin using spoken words around their first birthday. Between 14-18 months children develop up to 50 spoken words, and by age two children are expected to develop up to 200 spoken words. Currently, the number of parents reporting that their children are between the ages of two and four years old and not speaking should be a matter of national concern.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which affects a child’s communication and social behaviour. This basically means that how a child with autism develops his/her speech and language and social interaction skills and abilities will be different from that of his/her typically developing peers. What is extremely noteworthy is that many children who had introduction to screen time from infancy and prolonged usage over the first three-four years of their lives are beginning to present with very similar symptoms to that of children with autism. These symptoms include:

• delayed onset of first words

• limited expressive vocabulary

• reduced use of functional words

• reduced verbal imitation

• limited babbling in infants

• reduced communicative intent

• reliance on crying instead of words to communicate

• limited conversational turn-taking

• echolalia (repeating words from videos without functional use)

• difficulty following verbal directions

• reduced receptive language (comprehension) skills

This occurs because screen time replaces critical human interaction and human modelling necessary for language development.

The latest reported craze amongst parents is having their young children watch long hours of Miss Rachel, a popular children’s show on YouTube and Netflix that they believe is educational and helps to teach their children communication skills. This is another unfortunate misconception. Though this particular show appears to be appealing to young children, it is one directional, lacks contextual exposure, and simply cannot replace what was once the norm before screens, which was good old human interaction and in-person stimulation.

A child learns the word “yellow” on their favourite show, sees the colour yellow on the screen, but if you ask that child to get the yellow banana on the dining table, it turns and walks away, having not comprehended the request, let alone what action is expected of it. Learning without context is problematic! This will impact not only the child’s development, but also its academic readiness, creating bigger problems for our country’s educators.

Most parents may be shocked to learn that there is no actual scientific evidence that proves these so-called “educational” programmes are of any benefit to a child’s speech and language development. In fact, there is more data published to show otherwise.

There is no universal handbook for parenting children in the first five years of their lives. They can be demanding, noisy, distracting, curious, mischievous, and time-consuming, but all of these ingredients make for a developmentally functional toddler. Before the introduction of smart devices, parents had no choice but to interact with the children in their care. This automatically taught communication and social skills through just modelling of language usage and opportunities for children to use the modelled language in the home through the reciprocation that is human interaction. Too many parents are providing their children with caregiving but little stimulation. Screens can be a great tool for learning later in the child’s life, but in the first few years they need parental interaction, stimulation, and attention.

Let’s get back to basics, parents!

Ann-Merita Golding is a licensed speech-language pathologist, certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), and clinical director of Speech and Swallow Rehab and Therapy Services in Kingston, Jamaica.