Toddler Screen Time is on the Rise

Nearly 43 per cent of two-and-a-half-year-olds are getting at least one hour of screen time a day, according to a recent report linked to the Growing Up in Quebec study. That number increases to 65 per cent on weekends. McGill Educational and Counselling Psychology Professor Victoria Talwar, Canada Research Chair and Director of the Daniel and Monica Gold Centre for Early Childhood Development, was interviewed by CTV News on the topic of children and screens. In the television interview and in the accompanying article, Professor Talwar comments on the negative effects of screen time for small children and provides tips for parents on how to curb and adjust screen use to include more social interactions, come up with a media plan, in addition to focusing on family time and leading by example.

“If there’s one life hack I could give parents, this is the thing, the greatest thing you could do for your children, and maintain throughout, is have dinner as a sit-down meal,” Talwar said about setting screens aside during dinner. “Everyone who’s in your family, whatever that makeup may be, come together for one meal a day, and that is your time.”