The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds
The screen time habits formed in a child’s early years may determine how well they perform in elementary school, according to a large Canadian study that tracked thousands of children from toddlerhood through sixth grade. Researchers found that the amount of time young children spent watching TV, playing on tablets, and using other digital devices prior to taking standardized tests in grades 3 and 6 predicted their reading and math scores on those tests.
For every extra hour of daily screen time during those crucial early years, children had 9 to 10 percent lower odds of scoring at a higher academic level in grade 3 reading and math, and in grade 6 math. The study, which followed more than 3,300 children and collected data from 2008 to 2023, provides some of the strongest evidence yet that what happens with screens before and during early elementary school matters for academic achievement
“High levels of screen time may displace academic-promoting activities, such as physical activity, peer play time, and sleep,” the researchers noted in their paper published in JAMA Network Open.
Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/more-screen-time-lower-grades-preschool/