The Costs of Using Devices to Calm Children with Peter Reschke, PhD

The usage of phones and tablets to help calm infants and young children in difficult moments is often effective in the moment – yet how is the development of self-calming skills affected by this common parenting practice long-term? On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry is joined by Dr. Peter Reschke, Associate Professor of Human Development at Brigham Young University and expert on early emotion and social development. Dr. Reschke details how babies and young children develop an understanding of emotions, why infant-caregiver interactions are critical for development, and shares recent research on how regularly using media at early ages to cope with negative emotions can affect later behavior and problematic media use.In this episode, you will learn:The powerful role parents play in helping infants and young children develop the skills to recognize, express, and regulate emotionsWhy watching media together (known as  “co-viewing”) with young children can positively impact emotional development (and why solo media use may be disruptive) What the research says about giving phones and tablets to calm children  (and healthier ways to help them cope with difficult emotions)How regular use of media or devices for emotion regulation in early childhood predicts problematic media use in later childhoodHow an infant's nervous system reacts physiologically when parents are digitally distracted, according to researchFor more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)--------------Follow Children and Screens on: Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child DevelopmentInstagram: @childrenandscreensLinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child DevelopmentX: @childrenscreensBluesky: @childrenandscreens.bsky.social---------------Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au