One in three babies is using a phone or tablet by six months old. By age two, almost one in ten is averaging around four hours of screen time a day.

New research into screen use during the first years of life has landed with a confronting warning for parents. Justin and Kylie unpack what researchers call “digital soothing”, why screens can crowd out the interactions babies need for healthy development, and what parents can do when zero screen time feels almost impossible.

KEY POINTS

• 16% of Australian three and four year olds had recently used TikTok, YouTube or Instagram.
• More than half of children are using phones or tablets by their first birthday.
• Why researchers are concerned about using screens to soothe, comfort and entertain babies.
• How screens can replace the face-to-face “serve and return” interactions that build language and thinking skills.
• Higher screen exposure in the early years is linked with poorer sleep, delayed language and cognitive development, weaker social skills and poorer later school performance.
• Why watching together is different from leaving a young child alone with a device.

QUOTE OF THE EPISODE

“The first thousand days build the brain. Work hard to get that right.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• eSafety Commissioner’s Growing Up Online report
• Jonathan Haidt’s After Babel Substack
• New systematic review of global research into screen use during the first 1,001 days of life

ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS

• Aim for as close to zero screen time as possible during the first two years.
• Don’t rely on a device as your child’s regular comforter or distraction.
• Prioritise talking, playing, moving and face-to-face interaction.
• When screen time does happen, watch and engage together rather than handing over the device.
• Look at what screen time is replacing, not only what your child is watching.