Importance of Screen-Free Interactions in Early Childhood

[Dr. Joan Luby]: There are really critical social and emotional developmental tasks that children need to achieve in the first few years of life. And these tasks really require in-person live interactions with human caregivers. And they are things that screens cannot provide and that screens will likely interfere with. So one is learning to identify and label emotions in themselves and others and to accurately perceive emotions in others – a critical, foundational emotional skill essential to later mental health. The other – learning to regulate intense emotions, this best done through co-regulation with a caregiver. Learning empathy, helping, and other prosocial behaviors. Again, these are things that can only be achieved in early childhood in the presence of other human beings modeling these types of behaviors. Along this line is social problem solving. Another key feature that we’ve more recently been learning about is the importance of developing regular circadian rhythms and sleep. We now know that this is actually a fundamental need for healthy brain development. And screen use may very much interfere with this.