It's getting late.. dinner's on fire.. the phone is ringing.. and your child's tantrum has begun.. Most of the time, screens on electronic devices help calm him down a bit.
But a new study, published in JAMA Pediatrics on Monday, shows that soothing a child with digital devices may lead to more problems with their emotional interaction.
The researchers looked at 422 reactions from parents and caregivers to assess how likely they were to use devices to distract their children, ages 3 and 5, and what their behavior was like over a six-month period.
According to the study, frequent use of digital devices to distract from disruptive behavior, such as temper tantrums, was associated with more emotional distress in children.
Lead study author Dr. Jenny Radesky, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, said: 'When your child is going through a difficult emotional moment, that means they're screaming and crying about something, they're feeling frustrated, and they might hit or kick or lie on the floor. Distracting them or keeping them silent with electronic media, this study suggests, doesn't help them in the long run."
Radesky explained that this method does not help the child to confront and respond to his difficult feelings. Not only that, but it leads them to believe that their difficult feelings are an effective way to get what they want.
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