By John Vibes | Truth Theory
According to a new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, too much screen time for young children could be linked to slower brain development. The study’s lead author Dr. John Hutton, a pediatrician and clinical researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, says that this is the first known study to examine how screen time affects the actual structure of a child’s growing brain.
In the study, Hutton and his team scanned the brains of children in the sensitive age group between 3 and five years old. They found that the white matter in the brain was less developed in children who spent more time in front of screens. White matter is important to thought processing and the development of speech and literacy.
Hutton says that the first five years of brain development is extremely important.
“This is important because the brain is developing the most rapidly in the first five years. That’s when brains are very plastic and soaking up everything, forming these strong connections that last for life,” Hutton told CNN.
How much screen time does your toddler have per day? Dr. Jen Ashton has the recommended guidelines after a new study warns screen time may change their young brains.
Posted by Robin Roberts on Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Hutton said that children who spent more time in front of screens spend less time interacting with actual people, which is an essential part of creating the pathways in the brain that will make it easier to develop social and cognitive skills.
