Photo Credit: CokaPoka

Early childhood tablet use may contribute to a cycle that is deleterious for emotional regulation, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Caroline Fitzpatrick, PhD, and colleagues estimated how children’s tablet use contributes to expressions of anger and frustration from ages 3.5 to 5.5 using data from 315 parents of preschool-aged children. A one standard deviation (SD) increase in tablet use at 3.5 years (1.15 hours per day) was associated with a 22% increase in anger/frustration at age 4.5. A 1 SD scale increase in anger and frustration at age 4.5 was associated with a 22% SD (0.28 hours per day) increase in tablet use at age 5.5. “Screen use in general and mobile device use in particular are increasingly present in the lives of young children,” Dr. Fitzpatrick and colleagues wrote. “Our study suggests that … tablet use in early childhood can disrupt the ability to manage anger and frustration and lead to increased outbursts in young children.”