According to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, reducing the negative effects of screen time on little children is the simplest way to encourage them to play outside. In a recent study, researchers at Osaka University found that children who spend more time watching screens at age 2 have weaker communication and daily living abilities at age 4, although some of these negative impacts are mitigated if children play outdoors.

In particular, outdoor play was found to mitigate about one-fifth of the impacts of screen time on daily living skills, which suggests that boosting outdoor play could practically halve the detrimental effects of screen time on daily living skills. The researchers also discovered that socialization was better among 4-year-olds who had spent more time playing outside when they were 2 years and 8 months old, even though it was unrelated to screen time.

For the study, the team enrolled 885 children between the ages of 18 months and 4 years. They evaluated the relationship between three key features, namely the average amount of screen time per day at age 2, the amount of outdoor play at age 2 years and 8 months, and neurodevelopmental outcomes, especially communication, daily living skills, and socialization scores at age 4.

The findings coincide with ongoing worries about the negative impacts of children using smartphones, particularly in light of the recent COVID-19 lockdowns, which increased childrens screen usage and decreased their time playing outside. The World Health Organization also advises against exposing 2-year-olds to sedentary screen time, which is defined as activities like watching TV and playing video games for longer than an hour a day. 

(Source: https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/young-hans/more-outdoor-play-may-cut-negative-effects-of-screen-time-in-kids-788842 )