Nowadays, we are experiencing a phenomenon where children are getting to digital technologies earlier and earlier - babies as young as one to two months old can spend time watching cartoons on TV screens or mobile phone screens. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding screens altogether for children up to age two and significantly reducing viewing after that, the reality is often different. This trend is being watched with concern by experts because excessive digital media use can negatively affect attention span, sleep, eating habits and overall behavior in young children.
At the same time, there is an ongoing debate among experts about the role played by the psychological state of parents, especially mothers, in this issue. Some studies suggest that mothers who experience stress or symptoms of anxiety or depression may be more likely to provide their children digital devices as a form of respite or relief - for the child and for themselves. However, research in this area is often cross-sectional and does not provide enough information on how the relationship between maternal psychology and children's media behaviour evolves over time. This is why the new study from the INPSY team decided to take a more detailed and longitudinal approach.
The team of Lenka Štěpánková, Petra Pátková Daňsová and Karel Rečka decided to investigate whether and how the psychological burden of mothers - specifically their level of depressive and anxiety symptoms and subjectively perceived stress - is related to the amount of time their young children spend in front of screens. The research is based on data from the large longitudinal DOMOV study, which followed 710 mothers from the last trimester of pregnancy until their child was three years old. Participants answered online questionnaires in eight waves, and researchers used scales to measure children's psychological distress and media behaviour.
A surprising finding - no relationship was found
The main finding of the study was surprising: although a number of previous studies have suggested a link between maternal psychological distress and increased media consumption in children, no significant associations were found in this case. Neither depressive nor anxiety symptoms nor mothers' subjectively perceived stress had a long-term effect on how much screen time their children spent with screens. The authors offer several possible explanations, including that mental discomfort is not just related to childcare. Mothers may experience stress or depressive symptoms for reasons other than childcare - for example, financial difficulties, relationship problems or health problems. In this case, “putting” the child in front of a screen may not bring any improvement in the psychological state. Similarly, more frequent media use by children has not had a retroactive effect - for example, reducing stress or anxiety in mothers. Thus, the results suggest that the idea of ‘putting children off screens’ because of maternal psychological exhaustion may not be as common or effective as some studies have suggested.
It was also interesting to look at the evolution of each variable over time: while children's screen viewing increased significantly with age - there was a sharp increase between the ages of 1 and 3 - the rate of depressive and anxiety symptoms in mothers was highest in pregnancy and then gradually declined. In contrast, the rate of perceived stress showed a slightly increasing trend over the years studied, with several ‘peaks’, for example in the sixth and twelfth months after delivery. These may be related to lack of sleep, returning to work or other challenging circumstances of life with a young child.
The study makes an important contribution to the debate on the impact of parental stress and mental health on children's digital habits. The results suggest that children's exposure to digital technologies is not a one-size-fits-all solution to maternal psychological distress, and the relationship between psychological distress and young children's media use is more complex than often assumed. For the future, the authors recommend focusing more on context - i.e. when, why and how children use media and what their parents do when they do so. Research methods that capture even short-term changes or specific daily situations would also be useful. After all, digital media is neither an outright evil nor an ideal solution - and understanding its role in families' everyday lives can help design effective support strategies for parents and children.
Recommended citation:
Štěpánková, L., Pátková Daňsová, P., & Rečka, K. (2025). Maternal distress and children’s screen media use: A longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001326
