Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists March 2016 | Page 3
Using Mobile Technology to Calm Children?
JAMA Pediatrics has published research on a
survey given to English or Spanish speaking
parents of 144 healthy children ages 15-36
months. The survey questions inquired about the
likelihood of allowing smartphone or tablet use by
children during different situations, such as
calming them down, keeping them quiet, while
eating, in public, to get chores done, or at
bedtime. Additional survey questions evaluated
parental perceived control about their child’s
development, social relationships, and behavior.
The results indicated the following:
1. children with social-emotional difficulties had a
higher prevalence of being given mobile
technology as a calming tool when they were
upset and to keep peace and quiet in the house
2. there were no differences in the use of mobile
technology during other situations such as eating,
being in public, doing chores, or at bedtime.
3. associations were stronger among parents with low vs high perceived control for calming
down and for keeping peace and quiet in the house.
The researchers recommended longitudinal studies to understand the transactional
relationship between the use of digital technology and the developmental trajectories of
children.
As therapists, we can perhaps educate parents on various tools to help young children to
calm down that do not include technology. Not only will this provide parents with different
strategies it may help young children to develop improved self regulation skills.
Reference: Jenny S. Radesky, MD et al. Use of Mobile Technology to Calm Upset Children
Associations With Social-Emotional Development. JAMA Pediatrics. Published online
February 29, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.4260.
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