Getting children outside can help mitigate negative effects of screen time: Research

According to new Japanese research, more screen time at age 2 is associated with poorer communication and daily living skills at age 4--however, when children also play outside, some of the negative effects of screen time are mitigated.

Specifically, almost one-fifth of the effects of screen time on daily living skills were mediated by outdoor play, meaning that increasing outdoor play time could reduce the negative effects of screen time on daily living skills by almost 20 per cent.

The researchers also found that, although it was not linked to screen time, socialization was better in 4-year-olds who had spent more time playing outside at 2 years and 8 months of age.