Increased television time for young children has long been linked with poorer progress in some areas of development. One possible way to counter those negative effects is talking while watching the screen. As a new study suggests, the more parents engaged in conversation with preschoolers during TV time, the more likely those children were to have higher curiosity levels when they reached kindergarten. This was particularly true for children with socioeconomic disadvantages.
"Our findings reinforce the importance of parent conversation to promote early childhood development and curiosity," said lead author Prachi Shah at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Researchers assessed hours of daily television exposure and frequency of parent-screen-time conversation among 1,500 preschoolers, and then measured early childhood curiosity in kindergarten. The study specifically focused on curiosity levels, which are associated with enhanced learning and higher academic achievement in reading and math at kindergarten, and behavioral-developmental benefits, especially for children from families with lower socioeconomic status. While many young children are now growing up with digital media exposure through mobile devices like tablets and phones, television remains a dominant screen activity, accounting for 72% of all screen time. TVs are in 98% of all homes, keeping television exposure a relevant developmental context in young children.
Excessive media exposure, including television, can displace exploratory activities such as play and parent-child interactions, which are believed to be key to cultivating curiosity in kids. "Our findings suggest the importance of parents finding opportunities to foster conversational exchanges in daily routines with their young children—including while watching television," Shah said.