Get screaming! Giving children cell phones to calm them down during tantrums leads to behavioral problems, a study warns

Giving your child a phone to calm them down during a tantrum can lead to behavioral problems, a study has found.

While digital advice can give a crying child a quick respite, researchers say the technique has long-term consequences.

A team from the University of Michigan recruited 422 parents and their children between the ages of three and five for their study.

They asked the parents how often they used digital devices, such as a phone or iPad, as a sedative and whether their child showed any symptoms of emotional or behavioral problems over a six-month period.

These include rapid changes between sadness and excitement, a sudden change in mood or emotion, and increased impulsivity.

The results, published in the journal Jama Pediatrics, suggest that the link between using a digital device to calm children and emotional consequences was particularly strong in young boys.

Every hour a child plays video games daily increases their risk of OCD by 13%

There was also a correlation between watching YouTube content and OCD – with each hour spent streaming video associated with an 11 percent increased risk.

It was also more common in children who already experienced hyperactivity or impulsivity, or who had strong tempers, causing them to be more likely to react intensely to feelings such as anger, frustration and sadness.

The researchers suggest that instead of using a phone or iPad to calm a child, parents can try sensory techniques such as jumping on a trampoline, listening to music or looking at a book.

They also recommend teaching children a safer, more problem-solving response when they are upset, or asking your child to name their feelings and discuss what to do about it.

Lead author Jenny Radesky said: “Using mobile devices to calm a young child may seem like a harmless, temporary way to reduce stress in the home, but it can have long-term consequences when it is a normal calming strategy .”

“Especially in early childhood, devices can crowd out opportunities to develop independent and alternative methods of self-regulation.

“Using a distraction such as a mobile device does not teach skills – it only distracts the child from their feelings.

“Children who do not develop these skills in early childhood are more likely to struggle as they get older when they are stressed at school or with peers.”

While the occasional use of a device to entertain children is expected and realistic, it’s important that it not become a regular soothing tool, she said.

She added that preschool-to-kindergarten is a developmental stage when children are more likely to exhibit difficult behaviors, such as tantrums and intense emotions.

This, in turn, can make it even more tempting to use gadgets as a parenting strategy.

Meanwhile, a separate study found that 9- to 10-year-olds who spend too much time glued to their screens are more likely to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Their odds of developing OCD over a two-year period increased by 13 percent for every hour they played video games and 11 percent for every hour they watched videos.

Actress Kate Winslet recently said she doesn’t think children should be given smartphones at a young age.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “Don’t let your kids have a phone if they’re too young to know what to do with it.

“It’s obviously a big problem these days for parents struggling with teenagers and their mental health and addiction to phones and social media and sometimes not even knowing how to communicate with their child.”