Local pediatrician weighs in on developmental impact of screen time

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A new study shows the harm excessive screen time can have on your child.

Screen time is the time people spend watching television, playing video games, and using mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices.

A study published on Monday in Jama Pediatrics shows how screen time impacts child development. It found that by two, children were three times more likely to experience delays in communication and problem-solving if they had daily screen time of up to four hours a day.

Those with more screen time were more likely to have underdeveloped communication skills and two times more likely to have sub-par motor skills.

Dr. Margaret Hennessy, a local pediatrician with Ascension Wisconsin not involved with the study, tells CBS 58 she is not surprised the study shows children's development is impacted by screen time as it's something she talks to her patients' families about.

"If you don't stimulate all the different parts of your brain -- the smell, touch, the look, the sound -- if you don't stimulate all those parts, you're not going to see that develop," Hennessy said.

Hennessy said the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero screen time for kids in the first two years, then an hour a day after that.

"If you look at small children, they develop almost out of necessity. It's just like learning how to walk. If you carry me everywhere all the time, and all my needs are met, I wouldn't bother with walking. It's the same thing with communication. It's the same thing with how I interact with my environment. I develop and go to the next stage out of necessity," she said.

To promote healthy development, Hennessy recommends parents disconnect and focus on interaction, no matter how simple.

"See where kids can be incorporated into your daily life, where they aren't on a screen," she said. "Watching you do a task, [children are] going to learn a lot from that, and you can tell them what you're doing. Having that constant dialogue with kids from a real person, not a TV, will make a huge difference with them down the road."

Another issue with screen time doctors like Hennessy are seeing is more children diagnosed with myopia, or near-sightedness, which is difficulty seeing far away.