Study Finds Toddlers Learning 1,000 Fewer Words Owing to Screen Time

At 36 months, children spoke 6.6 fewer adult words per extra screen minute, resulting in 1,139 fewer adult words.

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Every minute toddlers spend glued to screens at home results in them hearing fewer words, speaking less, and having fewer conversations with their parents, according to new research.

Researchers from the Telethon Kids Institute monitored 220 Australian families over two-and-a-half years, during which toddlers wore a device capturing 16 hours of audio daily in their homes.