Diaper Days Blog: From Tablets to Tension: How Toddler Screen Time May Fuel Teen Anxiety

New research now shows that when toddlers spend too much time on screens, measurable changes occur in their brains that can lead to anxiety and learning difficulties in their teenage years. The 2025 study, based in Singapore, found a biological explanation for why limiting screen time in the first two years is crucial, according to its senior author, Assistant Professor Tan Ai Peng.

The longitudinal study tracked 168 children for more than a decade, using brain scans at ages 4.5, 6, and 7.5 to examine the effects of extensive screen time on their brains. Sadly, structural changes were found, indicating accelerated maturation of brain networks dealing with visual processing and cognitive control.

Accelerated maturation sounds like a good thing. In this case, it’s not. As a result of those changes in their brains, the children in the study took longer to make cognitive decisions when they were 8.5 and reported high levels of anxiety at age 13.

Avoid the Tablet (and other handheld interactive electronics):

No parent wants to harm their child. When parents buy their babies electronic tablets, they want to give them good gifts and make them happy. And frankly, we’re happy when they’re happy. Plus, they’re quiet and inactive, which makes it easier for the adults to do other things.

I love quiet children as much as anyone, but we’ve got to change the equation, parents. While the kids love electronics and we love their quietness while they’re on them, screentime can be harmful. Full stop.

Embrace Offline Activities:

There was a time, not that long ago, before handheld electronics infiltrated our lives, when babies and toddlers played offline. Babies and toddlers need more of those activities that we used to do.

Do more face-to-face interactions, telling stories, reading books, singing songs, solving puzzles, and playing outside. Your child’s future mental health may well depend on you taking a stand against tablets and handheld electronics now.

When you struggle to stay offline, remember this: as of now, there remains no scientific evidence that screen-based activities aid a child’s development. Instead, the research continues to pile up that actual harm is happening.