Children in low-income households are more likely to have more screen time.
During the week, a quarter of 17-month-olds spend on average an hour or more per day in front of a screen, and the rate rises to 35 per cent on the weekend. The proportion is higher among children in low-income households, both on weekdays (42 per cent) and weekends (47 per cent). Twenty-four per cent of children that age use screens 30 minutes to an hour on weekdays, and 32 per cent spend less than half an hour on screens.
Those who live with another child older than them are also more likely to spend at least an hour a day in front of screens. On weekends, 37 per cent of children alongside an older child are in front of a screen for an hour or more, which is five percentage points more than toddlers who don’t live with an older child.
The ISQ report was based on the longitudinal study Growing Up in Quebec, which will follow more than 4,000 children born in Quebec in 2020-21 into adulthood. The ISQ intends to monitor the evolution of screen use at several points in these children’s lives, which will make it possible to establish links between screen time and their development, including cognitive and language development.
The report’s results show that television is the most used type of screen for toddlers, with approximately 44 per cent of 17-month-olds watching television every day, and 20 per cent using a cellphone daily. Among other devices, 3.4 per cent of toddlers use a tablet or other mobile device daily and less than one per cent use a computer daily.
Plenty of scientific research says people should reduce their screen time before bedtime, particularly because blue light is harmful to sleep. The ISQ report shows that nine per cent of babies watch TV shows, videos or movies daily before bed and six per cent watch them daily during meals.
Parents’ justification for their child’s use of screens varies quite a bit. Around 21 per cent say they use them to amuse or please their baby; 16 per cent use screens for learning purposes; 19 per cent to occupy the child while they do something else; and six per cent often or very often use screens to calm their child.
Use among parents
Most parents avoid screens altogether during the child’s bedtime routine and when getting the child ready in the morning.
During family meals, 5.7 per cent of fathers reported using a screen often or very often and 17.3 per cent using it sometimes. Others said they never or rarely use them. As for mothers, five per cent said they used a screen often or very often during family meals and 14.5 per cent said they sometimes used it.
Some scientific recommendations are stricter than others about the maximum screen time a child should be exposed to, but there seems to be some consensus that as a general rule, before the age of two a child should avoid all screen use.
According to the government of Quebec, to promote the development of preschool-age children, those age two to five should spend at most one hour per day in front of a screen. For children age six to 12, the suggested limit on screen time rises to two hours per day.
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