Hours of screen time ‘makes kids slower at learning to problem-solve and communicate’

TOTS who spend hours in front of screens could become slower at learning to problem-solve and communicate, a study warns.

Scientists said the more one-year-olds watched, the greater the effect.

They said those plonked in front of a TV or tablet for more than four hours a day during their first year or so of life experienced the developmental delays.

However, after the age of four, their social and personal skills and problem-solving matched their peers.

The researchers were torn between two likely theories.

One was that the infants simply caught up.

The other was that tots who already had social and personal development problems were more likely to be plonked in front of a screen.

Experts noted that some kids’ language skills improved if their screens were used for educational purposes.

The study of 7,097 children was carried out by Tohoku University in Japan.

Parents filled in questionnaires monitoring their child’s development.

Study author Dr Taku Obara concluded: “Greater screen time at age one year was associated with developmental delays in communication and problem-solving at ages two and four years.”