This Is Bad News for Parents Who Use Screen Time to Discipline Kids

We’ve all been there—after you’ve tried every parenting trick in the book, sometimes screen time seems like the only answer.

But using smart devices as a reward or revoking them as a punishment leads to more screen time, according to researchers at the University of Guelph.

The study comes at a time when there is a lot of confusion and concern over screen time use. To help parents reach a happy medium, the AAP offers guidelines on recommended screen time usage for kids. With that in mind, it’s still very much a grey area, and we are constantly finding out more information on the effects it has on kids and families.

For this study, researchers looked at the impact of parenting practices on the amount of time kids ages of 18 months and 5 years old spend in front of screens. Parents who participated in the study were asked questions on how they monitor screen time, when kids are allowed it and whether parents spend time in front of screens with their children around.

Kids spend about an hour and a half in front of a screen during the week, and slightly more than two hours a day on weekends, according to the research. And their parents spend about two hours a day in front of a screen during weekdays and just over two and a half hours a day on weekends.

A majority of parents reported using screen time as a way to control behaviour, especially on weekends. This may be why we see kids spend on average 20 minutes more a day in front of screens on the weekend.

And children of parents who are on their phones or tablets in front them have higher amounts of screen time usage themselves.

“For parents of younger children, this isn’t as common because parents can have their screen time while a child is napping or in bed. But as children get older, out-grow their naps and have later bedtimes, spending time in front of a screen without children around becomes more difficult,” says study researcher Jess Haines.

The study also found kids who are allowed to be on tablets or smartphones during dinnertime also experienced more time in front of screens as a whole.

We live in a generation where it’s impossible to avoid screen time altogether. Studies like these aren’t meant to shame parents, but enlighten them on a modern-day dilemma others before them never even had to worry about.

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