Crypto News: Ticking screen bomb

Hi, it's Tanaz in New York with more evidence of the toll screen time can take on kids' academic achievement and emotional well-being. But first…

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I recently came across some troubling news and it strikes me that any parent who's given their crying toddler a tablet or other mobile device to distract them would want to know: Excessive gazing at screens at a young age can leave kids more vulnerable to impaired cognitive skills. That's according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics on Monday.

Children in the US between the ages of six months and 18 months are exposed to two to three hours of screen time each day, according to the study. Yet the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages all screen use, other than video chatting, among children younger than 18 months.

It's a topic that comes up a lot with my cousin, a mom of two young girls. She worries about how much time they spend glued to screens, but doesn't know how else to occupy them so she can get her work done. This was especially a problem for her during the pandemic as it was, no doubt, for many parents.

The takeaway from the JAMA study may be to put away those screens and deal with a bit more distraction today for the benefit of your child in the future. The study found too much screen time can later harm abilities to process information and regulate emotion, what pediatric psychologists call executive functioning. "They're things that end up being important for academic success and also for success in how we juggle life," says Carol Wilkinson, a developmental pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital.

The study followed 437 children from birth onward between November 2010 to March 2020. Parents shared how much time their child had spent in front of a screen during a one month period at several points. When the children turned nine, attention and executive functioning were measured using teacher reports and lab-based tasks. The finding: "Increased screen time in infancy is associated with impairments in cognitive processes critical for health, academic achievement, and future work success."

This doesn't mean screens are entirely to blame for such deficits, says Wilkinson, who contributed to the analysis. There are many other factors that could've also played a role but weren't considered in the study, such as the impact of hyperactivity on children's behavior.

Kids learn best from back and forth real-world interactions, which they can't get from screens. One solution Wilkinson recommends is to create interactions even when kids are using screens. For example, if a child is watching someone sing on screen, the parent should sing along in real life.

"If you can talk and respond to whatever is happening on the screen, you've created a dynamic experience rather than a 2D experience," she says. Think of it as a tennis match: The serve and return is critical for development.
—Tanaz Meghjani

Here's a reminder that screens have been around awhile: It's the 50th anniversary of Schoolhouse Rock, those musical vignettes that aired on ABC to teach multiplication and grammar, reports the New York Times.

A judge ordered a private special education school in Washington state to turn over records after the Seattle Times and ProPublica reported allegations of abuse.

Six of seven states in the Southwest agreed to reduce their reliance on Colorado River water. California was the sole holdout, reports Grist.

Ask us anything — well, anything health-related that is! Each week we're picking a reader question and putting it to our network of experts. So get in touch via AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net.