Summary: A new study finds that toddlers who use touchscreens, especially those who actively scroll, show a correlation with stronger fine motor control.
Source: Frontiers
Does your toddler use a touchscreen tablet? A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology reports that early touchscreen exposure—particularly active scrolling—is associated with improved fine motor milestone achievement in toddlers.
Smartphones and tablets are now a normal part of daily life, at work and at home. Many people read news, check messages, or watch videos on touchscreen devices during commutes and breaks. As family ownership of touchscreen devices has surged over the past decade, children are being introduced to touchscreens at progressively younger ages.
Data show that touchscreen ownership in households rose rapidly in the early 2010s. Consequently, toddlers commonly encounter tablets and phones, which raises questions for parents and policymakers: does early touchscreen use help, harm, or leave child development unchanged?
Concerns have centered on potential negative effects of early screen exposure on cognitive and social development. Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have advised limited screen time for very young children, recommending minimal to no screen exposure under two years of age. These guidelines reflect caution, but empirical evidence specifically linking touchscreen use to developmental delays has been limited.
Part of the reason for limited evidence is the relative novelty of touchscreen technology and the short time researchers have had to observe its long-term effects on the current generation of children. To address this gap, researchers led by Dr. Tim J. Smith at Birkbeck, University of London, and colleagues at King’s College set up an online survey to gather data directly from UK parents about their young children’s touchscreen use and developmental milestones.
The survey asked whether children used touchscreens, the age they first used them, frequency and duration of use, and milestone information such as the age of first stacking blocks (a fine motor milestone) and the age of first two-word utterances (a language milestone). In total, 715 families of children aged 6 to 36 months completed the survey, providing a snapshot of how touchscreen exposure and developmental achievements align in early childhood.
Key findings from the survey include that touchscreen use is very common in UK toddlers and increases with age. Reported daily exposure rose from just over half of infants aged 6–11 months to over 90% of children aged 19–36 months. Average daily use also increased across these age groups.
When researchers examined developmental milestones, they found no reliable association between touchscreen use and the timing of walking or early language production. However, among toddlers aged 19–36 months, an earlier reported age of first active touchscreen scrolling was associated with an earlier age of first stacking blocks—a standard measure of fine motor control. This relationship held after accounting for variables such as child age, sex, mother’s education (used as a proxy for socioeconomic status), and earlier fine motor abilities like pincer grip.
The effect was specific to active touchscreen interaction (scrolling) rather than passive viewing of videos. The study authors caution that this is a correlational finding: the data show an association but do not prove that touchscreen scrolling causes faster fine motor development. It is also possible that toddlers with earlier-developing fine motor skills are more likely to manipulate touchscreen devices sooner. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish directionality and underlying mechanisms.
Overall, the study concludes that touchscreen use grows quickly over the first three years of life and, in this sample, earlier touchscreen scrolling was linked to earlier fine motor milestone achievement. Importantly, the research did not find evidence for harm to walking or early language milestones tied to touchscreen use. The authors recommend future longitudinal and experimental work to determine cause and effect and to explore impacts on more detailed behavioral, cognitive, and neural measures.
Source: Conn Hastings — Frontiers blog
Image source: Image adapted from the Frontiers press release.
Original research: Rachael Bedford, Irati R. Saez de Urabain, Celeste H. M. Cheung, Annette Karmiloff-Smith and Tim J. Smith. “Toddlers’ Fine Motor Milestone Achievement Is Associated with Early Touchscreen Scrolling.” Frontiers in Psychology. Published online August 2, 2016. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01108
Toddlers’ Fine Motor Milestone Achievement Is Associated with Early Touchscreen Scrolling
Touchscreen devices provide intuitive sensory and cognitive stimulation for very young children. Although concerns exist that screen exposure could negatively affect early development, empirical evidence remains limited. This study reports findings from the UK TABLET (Toddler Attentional Behaviours and LEarning with Touchscreens) project, which used an online survey of 715 parents of 6– to 36-month-olds to examine how touchscreen use changes across the first three years and whether age of first touchscreen use relates to gross motor (walking), fine motor (stacking blocks), and language (two-word utterances) milestones. Results show a rapid increase in both the proportion of children using touchscreens and average daily use with age. Among toddlers aged 19–36 months, earlier age of first touchscreen use—specifically active scrolling—was associated with earlier fine motor milestone achievement after controlling for relevant covariates. No significant associations were found between touchscreen use and gross motor or language milestones. The authors recommend longitudinal studies to clarify causal direction and explore broader cognitive and neural outcomes.