2-Month-Old Babies Getting Regular Screen Time, Stunning Study Shows

Major Review Finds Risks Outweigh Any Benefit When It Comes To Giving Devices To Kids Under 2

American parents know they probably shouldn’t hand a six month old a phone. Plenty do it anyway. Now, a major new review finds screen use in the first two years is tied to concerning developmental and health associations.

A team called iADDICT, short for the interdisciplinary Action on Digital Device Immersive Conditions Team, pulled together research from dozens of countries and thousands of families, looking at how screens touch physical health, learning, sleep, emotional wellbeing, and the bond between a baby and the people raising them. The project was funded by the 1001 Critical Days Foundation, a UK charity focused on the stretch from conception to a child’s second birthday.

“The benefit of digital screen exposure for babies is negligible,” the authors write, “while the potential risks of use on physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development are substantial.” Both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics discourage routine screen time before age two. Most families aren’t listening.

To get there, researchers combed through peer reviewed studies published since 2020, looking at children two and under, plus their pregnant and postpartum caregivers, pulling from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Brazil, Japan, Sweden, Italy, India, and other countries.

Screen Time Starts Astonishingly Early

These numbers are the kind that make a parent put down their coffee. By age two, daily screen use is nearly universal, and in one study, roughly one in ten two year olds averaged around four hours a day.

It starts almost immediately. An Italian study tracking more than 35,000 children found screens already in the picture for more than one in eight babies just two to three months old, jumping to nearly two out of three by 13 to 15 months. Australian researchers found six month olds getting over an hour of screen time daily on average, more than doubling by their second birthday. None of this happens in a vacuum. Tired parents juggling work, chores, and the chaos of raising a baby reach for a screen because it works and it’s right there.

The Risks Show Up in Sleep, Language, and Behavior

What gets lost in that exchange is real. Babies learn language and social skills through back and forth interaction, cooing, babbling, pointing, getting a response. Screens interrupt that loop. One Australian study found that for every extra minute of screen time at age three, kids heard about six and a half fewer words from the adults around them.

Sleep took a hit too. Several studies across different countries connected screen exposure in babies and toddlers to trouble falling asleep, more nighttime waking, and shorter sleep overall. A Japanese study of nearly 64,000 children even found a link between TV exposure at age one and higher rates of chronic constipation by age three. Heavier screen use overall was tied to higher body fat in young children, and mealtime screens specifically were linked to worse eating habits, including parents missing when their child was full.

Eye health is murkier. Some studies, mostly out of China, found ties between early screen exposure and near sightedness in preschoolers, while others found nothing.

Behavioral findings sit heaviest. A large Canadian study tied persistent high screen use at age two to more acting out and a lower chance of hitting developmental milestones by age five. Some studies also found links between heavy early screen exposure and traits resembling autism spectrum disorder, though that is far from proof screens cause autism, and researchers say this needs more study. Using a screen to calm a fussy baby was tied to more emotional reactivity later.

Parents Set the Pattern Before Birth

Babies don’t pick up a tablet on their own. They inherit screen habits from the adults around them. Parents glued to their own phones during feeding or playtime, a pattern called technoference, were measurably less responsive to their baby’s cues. One small study found mothers interrupted mid-interaction with their infant engaged noticeably less afterward.

This habit often starts before the baby arrives. Pregnant women across several countries reported spending hours a day on their phones, and heavier social media use during pregnancy was moderately linked to low mood, disordered eating, and comparing one’s life to everyone else’s online. The habit rarely fades once the baby’s born.

Screen exposure also wasn’t spread evenly. Children from lower income and less educated families showed higher screen use and lower odds of following guidelines. One US study found non-Hispanic Black caregivers reported over two extra hours of passive TV exposure daily for their one year olds than other groups.

Researchers Call for No Regular Screen Time Before Age Two

Fixing this, the authors argue, takes more than telling parents to put the phone down. They’re proposing a screening tool, called a Baby’s Screen-Time Risk Assessment, for doctors to flag at-risk babies. They also want health officials to rethink messaging that could be read as giving screens a pass, even when framed around learning or staying connected.

Their stance, in their own words: “No under 2s should receive regular intentional screen time.” Parents have heard warnings about too much TV for decades. What’s different now is timing: a household’s screen habits can take hold before a baby can sit up, and sometimes before that baby is even born, which is exactly why researchers say the moment is worth taking seriously.

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Disclaimer: This article reports on associations identified in a published research review and is intended for general informational purposes. It is not medical advice. The findings described reflect correlations found across multiple studies and do not establish that screen use directly causes the outcomes mentioned. Parents with specific concerns about a child’s development should consult a pediatrician or qualified healthcare provider.

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