Children Given Digital Devices to Stop Tantrums Won’t Learn to Regulate Emotions, Study Shows

A baby plays with a mobile phone while his twin brother drinks juice in Kiev on Aug. 11, 2018. Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

A recent study has found that frequent use of digital devices to calm children during tantrums could hinder the development of self-regulatory skills.

The research, published in Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on June 28, emphasized that early childhood is a critical time for learning self-regulation skills—affective, mental, and behavioral responses.

In the study, 265 parents of children aged between 2 and 5 filled out questionnaires on their children’s behavior in 2020. A follow-up assessment occurred a year later.

Researchers found that when parents frequently gave their children digital devices to control their emotions, the children appeared to have poorer anger and frustration management skills a year later.

According to the study, children who were often provided with digital devices when they experienced negative emotions also showed “less effortful control” during the follow-up assessment.

“Here we show that if parents regularly offer a digital device to their child to calm them or to stop a tantrum, the child won’t learn to regulate their emotions,” Dr. Veronika Konok, the study’s first author and a researcher at Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, said in a statement.

“This leads to more severe emotion-regulation problems, specifically, anger management problems, later in life.”

Dr. Konok emphasized that parents should help their children learn how to cope with their negative emotions. Rather than avoiding situations that could be upsetting to their children, parents should coach them through challenging times, helping them to recognize their emotions and teaching them ways to cope.

“Based on our results, new training and counselling methods could be developed for parents. If peoples’ awareness about digital devices being inappropriate tools for curing tantrums increases, children’s mental health and well-being will profit,” said Caroline Fitzpatrick, a researcher at the Université de Sherbrooke and co-author of the study.

Guidelines released by the World Health Organization in 2019 recommend no screen time for babies under the age of 2 and limit screen time of no more than one hour per day for children aged 2 to 4.

Dr. Fiona Bull, WHO’s program manager for surveillance and population-based prevention of noncommunicable diseases, said that children should engage in physical activity, reduce sedentary time, and get quality sleep to boost their overall well-being.