US Pharm. 2024;49(8):4.
For many parents, cutting into their children’s screen use is a losing battle. Recent research from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), however, has found that restricting screens in bedrooms and at mealtimes and modeling healthy practices at home are effective measures.
In the study published in Pediatric Research, researchers asked 12- and 13-year-olds how often they used screens for everything but school, including gaming, texting, social media, video chatting, watching videos, and browsing the Internet, and whether their screen use was problematic. They questioned parents about their own screen use in the presence of their kids, how they monitored and restricted their children’s screen use, and whether they wielded it to reward or punish behavior.
The researchers also queried about the family’s use of screens during meals and children’s screen use in the bedroom, both of which were linked to increased time and addictive use. Screen use declined when parents limited their children’s screen time and when they modeled healthy behavior themselves, the study uncovered.
“These results are heartening because they give parents some concrete strategies they can use with their tweens and young teens: Set screen time limits, keep track of your kids’ screen use, and avoid screens in bedrooms and at mealtimes,” said Jason Nagata, MD, a pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and the first author of the study. “Also, try to practice what you preach.”
The study analyzed the effectiveness on tweens of parenting strategies recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years. The researchers collected data from 10,048 U.S. participants, 46% of whom were racial or ethnic minorities, from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. It is one of the few studies to examine how parenting practices affect screen use in early adolescence, when children start to become more independent.
Some city and state governments have instituted formal bans or restrictions on cell phones in schools. In June, the Los Angeles Unified School District approved a plan to ban cell phones all day on campuses, arguing that the devices distract students from learning, lead to anxiety, and allow cyberbullying. The ban takes effect in January after details are approved, enforcing it during students’ entire time at school, including lunch and other breaks.
In 2023, Florida became the first state to require public schools to ban students from using cell phones in class. In March, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill that requires school districts to limit cell phone use, and in May, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a similar bill that requires school districts to establish policies governing cell phone use. Lawmakers in at least eight other states have considered similar legislation.
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