351 ‘How much is too much? …Exploring parental views on screen time in children’

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Introduction Time spent engaging with screens has risen, with children in the UK spending an average of 6.3 hours per day on screens.1 The pandemic has seen a rise in screen-time of around 50 minutes per day for children aged 3–7years.2 Along with the rise in accessibility of screens, concerns have grown around the potential adverse effects of increased screen-time in children, who may be more vulnerable to these effects than adults. Objectives This study explores parental opinions of screen-time, including impact on children’s sleep, behaviour, development, and underlying factors surrounding usage and awareness of national guidelines. Methods Structured interviews of nine parents were conducted by two trained medical students in focus group format. Questions were developed to explore screen-time, behaviour, and awareness of guidelines. Parents were invited to attend structured online focus groups, ensuring that they had completed a short survey documenting demographics and their own screen time. Parents were recruited via social media posts. Written consent from parents and ethical approval was sought from the University of Edinburgh prior to data collection. The subjects were allocated random subject numbers and invited to an online focus group that lasted one hour. Results were coded using iterative comparison and common themes were identified. Results The pre-interview questionnaire demonstrated parental concerns regarding the effects of screen-usage (graph 1). The focus group thematic analysis allowed the identification of some key overarching themes. The identified positive themes include online educational resources and maintaining social relationships during the pandemic were identified as benefits of screen usage by 100% of parents. Other themes evolved around using screen time as a reward or motivation and restricting it as a means of disciplining children. All parents in the focus groups raised concerns about online safety and there were interesting debates about desensitisation to violence following gaming. Only one parent was aware of any guidelines regarding screen-time in children. Conclusion This study found that there are both positive and negative parental perceptions of how screen-time impacts children from a developmental, behavioural, and social perspective. The long-term effects of screen time, particularly gaming, on children is controversial and less understood. Health professionals should work towards safer online activity, in conjunction with promotion of a balanced off-screen lifestyle. In the future, we hope to explore children and young people’s perception on screen-time. References NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Screen Time. www.nhsggc.org.uk. NHSGGC; 2021 [cited 2022 Mar 10]. Available from: https://www.nhsggc.org.uk/about-us/professional-support-sites/screen-time/# Ribner AD, Coulanges L, Friedman S, Libertus ME, Hughes C, Foley S, et al. Screen Time in the Coronavirus 2019 Era: International Trends of Increasing Use Among 3- to 7-Year-Old Children. The Journal of Pediatrics 2021 Dec;239:59–66.e1.

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