This is an outdated version published on 2025-06-20. Read the most recent version.

The interplay between digital media, shared book reading and sleeping problems in early language development

Authors

Irene Cadime University of Minho, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8285-4824
Ana Lùcia Santos Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4758-7462
Iolanda Ribeiro Universidade do Minho, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1209-0763
María Teresa Martín-Aragoneses Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3005-7174

DOI:

Keywords:

language development, screen exposure, shared book reading, sleep quality, video calls

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to explore the impact of digital media (screen exposure and video calls) on children’s early language development by exploring its interrelationships with shared book reading and children’s sleeping problems. The cross-sectional data of 362 families with children aged 30 to 41 months old were collected and a structural equation analysis was used as a multivariate analysis technique to explore the complexity of the relationships among variables of interest. Screen exposure was significantly and negatively related to book reading and marginally and positively related to sleeping problems. The results indicated that screen exposure and video calls were not associated to children’s linguistic development; rather book reading was the main predictor. Maternal education was also a key factor on these interrelationships, as children from families in which the mother had a higher education degree spent less time with screens and were more exposed to shared book reading. The findings of this study provide additional insights on the relationship between digital media use and language development in the early years and highlight the importance of raising awareness among parents of the relevance of practices out of screens, such as book reading.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adelantado-Renau, M., Moliner-Urdiales, D., Cavero-Redondo, I., Beltran-Valls, M. R., Martínez-Vizcaíno, V., & Álvarez-Bueno, C. (2019). Association between screen media use and academic performance among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(11), 1058–1067. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3176

Allen, M. S., Iliescu, D., & Greiff, S. (2022). Single Item Measures in Psychological Science: A Call to Action. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 38(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000699

Alroqi, H., Serratrice, L., & Cameron-Faulkner, T. (2023). The association between screen media quantity, content, and context and language development. Journal of Child Language, 50, 1155–1183. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000922000265

American Academy of Pediatrics Council of Communications and Media (2016). Media and young minds. Pediatrics, 138(5), Article e20162591. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2591

Anderson, D. R., & Subrahmanyam, K. (2017). Digital screen media and cognitive development. Pediatrics, 140(2), 57–61. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1758C

Anderson, N. J., Graham, S. A., Prime, H., Jenkins, J. M., & Madigan, S. (2021). Linking quality and quantity of parental linguistic input to child language skills: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 92(2), 484–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13508

Bhutani, P., Gupta, M., Bajaj, G., Chandra, R., Sankar, S., & Kumar, S. (2024). Is the screen time duration affecting children’ s language development? - A scoping review. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 25, Article 101457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2023.101457

Brockmann, P. E., Diaz, B., Damiani, F., Villarroel, L., Núñez, F., & Bruni, O. (2016). Impact of television on the quality of sleep in preschool children. Sleep Medicine, 20, 140–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2015.06.005

Byrne, R., Terranova, C. O., & Trost, S. G. (2021). Measurement of screen time among young children aged 0–6 years : A systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 22(8), Article e13260. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13260

Cadime, I., Santos, A. L., Ribeiro, I., & Viana, F. L. (2021). Parental reports of preschoolers’ lexical and syntactic development: Validation of the CDI-III for European Portuguese. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 677575. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.677575

Cardoso, M. H., & Capellini, S. A. (2018). The importance of sleep in the learning process. Sleep Medicine and Disorders: International Journal, 2(3), 49–50. https://doi.org/10.15406/smdij.2018.02.00044

Cavalli, E., Anders, R., Chaussoy, L., Herbillon, V., Franco, P., & Putois, B. (2021). Screen exposure exacerbates ADHD symptoms indirectly through increased sleep disturbance. Sleep Medicine, 83, 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2021.03.010

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Covington, L. B., Armstrong, B., & Black, M. M. (2018). Perceived toddler sleep problems, co-sleeping, and maternal sleep and mental health. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 39(3), 238–245. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000535

Deloache, J. S., Chiong, C., Sherman, K., Islam, N., Vanderborght, M., Troseth, G. L., Strouse, G. A., & Doherty, K. O. (2010). Do babies learn from baby media? Psyychological Science, 21(11), 1570–1574. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610384145

Farrant, B. M., & Zubrick, S. R. (2013). Parent–child book reading across early childhood and child vocabulary in the early school years: Findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. First Language, 33(3), 280–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723713487617

Fung, P., St Pierre, T., Raja, M., & Johnson, E. K. (2023). Infants’ and toddlers’ language development during the pandemic: Socioeconomic status mattered. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 236, Article 105744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105744

Garrison, M. M., Liekweg, K., & Christakis, D. A. (2011). Media use and child sleep: The impact of content, timing, and environment. Pediatrics, 128(1), 29–35. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-3304

George, D., & Mallery, P. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics 23 step by step. A simple guide and reference (14th ed.). Routledge.

Glick, A. R., & Saiyed, F. S. (2022). Implications of video chat use for young children’ s learning and social – emotional development : Learning words, taking turns, and fostering familial relationships. WIREs Cognitive Science, 13(5), Article e1599. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1599

Green, A., Haim, A., & Dagan, Y. (2017). Evening light exposure to computer screens disrupts human sleep, biological rhythms, and attention abilities. Chronobiology International, 34(7), 855–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2017.1324878

Hayes, N., & Berthelsen, D. C. (2019). Longitudinal profiles of shared book reading in early childhood and children’s academic achievement in Year 3 of school. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 31(1), 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2019.1618347

Hindman, A. H., Skibbe, L. E., & Foster, T. D. (2014). Exploring the variety of parental talk during shared book reading and its contributions to preschool language and literacy : Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study-birth cohort. Reading and Writing, 27(2), 287–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-013-9445-4

Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1991). Mother-child conversation in different social classes and communicative settings. Child Development, 62(4), 782–796. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01569.x

Horowitz-Kraus, T., & Hutton, J. S. (2018). Brain connectivity in children is increased by the time they spend reading books and decreased by the length of exposure to screen-based media. Acta Paediatrica, 107(4), 685–693. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.14176

Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

Hurwitz, L. B., & Schmitt, K. L. (2020). Can children benefit from early internet exposure? Short- and long-term links between internet use, digital skill, and academic performance. Computers & Education, 146, 103750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103750

Jarůšková, L., Smolík, F., Chládková, K., Oceláková, Z., & Paillereau, N. (2023). How to build a communicative development inventory: Insights from 43 adaptations. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(6), 2095-2117. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00591

Jourdren, M., Bucaille, A., & Ropars, J. (2023). The impact of screen exposure on attention abilities in young children: A systematic review. Pediatric Neurology, 142, 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2023.01.005

Karrass, J., & Braungart-Rieker, J. M. (2005). Effects of shared parent – infant book reading on early language acquisition. Applied Developmental Psychology, 26(2), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2004.12.003

Khan, K. S., Purtell, K. M., Logan, J., Ansari, A., & Justice, L. M. (2017). Association between television viewing and parent-child reading in the early home environment. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 38(7), 521–527. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000465

Knowland, V. C. P., Berens, S., Gaskell, M. G., Walker, S. A., & Henderson, L. M. (2022). Does the maturation of early sleep patterns predict language ability at school entry? A Born in Bradford study. Journal of Child Language, 49(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000920000677

Kostyrka-Allchorne, K., Cooper, N. R., & Simpson, A. (2017). The relationship between television exposure and children’s cognition and behaviour: A systematic review. Developmental Review, 44, 19–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.12.002

Kumar, S. S., & Shirley, S. A. (2020). A study on correlation between screen time duration and school performance among primary school children at Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 7(1), 117–121. https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20195738

Lan, Q., Chan, K. C., Yu, K. N., Chan, N. Y., Wing, Y. K., Li, A. M., & Au, C. T. (2020). Sleep duration in preschool children and impact of screen time. Sleep Medicine, 76, 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.09.024

Madigan, S., McArthur, B. A., Anhorn, C., Eirich, R., & Christakis, D. A. (2020). Associations between screen use and child language skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(7), 665–675. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0327

Mallawaarachchi, S. R., Anglim, J., Hooley, M., & Horwood, S. (2022). Associations of smartphone and tablet use in early childhood with psychosocial, cognitive and sleep factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 60, 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.12.008

Marinelli, M., Sunyer, J., Alvarez-Pedrerol, M., Iñiguez, C., Torrent, M., Vioque, J., Turner, M. C., & Julvez, J. (2014). Hours of television viewing and sleep duration in children: A multicenter birth cohort study. JAMA Pediatrics, 168(5), 458–464. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.3861

Marsh, H. W., Hau, K.-T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2

Meri, R., Hutton, J., Farah, R., Difrancesco, M., Gozman, L., & Horowitz-kraus, T. (2023). Higher access to screens is related to decreased functional connectivity between neural networks associated with basic attention skills and cognitive control in children. Child Neuropsychology, 29(4), 666–685. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2022.2110577

Mol, S. E., Bus, A. G., de Jong, M. T., & Smeets, D. J. H. (2008). Added value of dialogic parent–child book readings: A meta-analysis. Early Education and Development, 19(1), 7–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409280701838603

Mustonen, R., Torppa, R., & Stolt, S. (2022). Screen time of preschool-aged children and their mothers, and children’s language development. Children, 9, Article 1577. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9101577

Myers, L. J., Crawford, E., Murphy, C., Aka-ezoua, E., Myers, L. J., Crawford, E., Murphy, C., & Aka-ezoua, E. (2018). Eyes in the room trump eyes on the screen: Effects of a responsive co-viewer on toddlers’ responses to and learning from video chat. Journal of Children and Media, 12(3), 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2018.1425889

Noble, C., Sala, G., Peter, M., Lingwood, J., Rowland, C., Gobet, F., & Pine, J. (2019). The impact of shared book reading on children’s language skills: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 28, Article 100290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.100290

Nolan, S., Day, K., Shin, W., & Yang, W. (2022). Books versus screens: A study of Australian children’s media use during the COVID pandemic. Publishing Research Quarterly, 38(4), 749–759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-022-09899-w

Olszewski, A., & Hood, R. L. (2023). Parents’ vocabulary instruction with preschoolers during shared book reading. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 39(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/02656590231151662

Osika, S., Issaeva, L., Boutin, E., & Osika, E. (2023). Screen time of toddlers in Paris suburbs: Quantitative and qualitative analysis. Archives de Pédiatrie, 30(8), 558–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arcped.2023.09.002

Ricci, C., Schlarb, A., Rothenbacher, D., & Genuneit, J. (2021). Digital media, book reading, and aspects of sleep and sleep-related fears in preschoolers: The Ulm SPATZ Health Study. Somnologie, 25(1), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-020-00290-5

Rocha, B., Ferreira, L. I., Martins, C., Santos, R., & Nunes, C. (2023). The dark side of multimedia devices: Negative consequences for socioemotional development in early childhood. Children, 10, Article 1807. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10111807

Roseberry, S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2014). Skype Me! Socially contingent interactions help toddlers learn language. Child Development, 85(3), 956–970. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12166

Santos, R. M. S., Mendes, C. G., Marques Miranda, D., & Romano-Silva, M. A. (2022). The association between screen time and attention in children: A systematic review. Developmental Neuropsychology, 47(4), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2022.2064863

Shin, N. (2004). Exploring pathways from television viewing to academic achievement in school age children. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 165(4), 367–381. https://doi.org/10.3200/GNTP.165.4.367-382

Sundqvist, A., Koch, F.-S., Thornberg, U. B., Barr, R., & Heimann, M. (2021). Growing up in a digital world – Digital media and the association with the child’s language development at two years of age. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 569920.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.569920

Taylor, G., Monaghan, P., & Westermann, G. (2018). Investigating the association between children’ s screen media exposure and vocabulary size in the UK. Journal of Children and Media, 12(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2017.1365737

Tremblay, M. S., Leblanc, A. G., Kho, M. E., Saunders, T. J., Larouche, R., Colley, R. C., Goldfield, G., & Gorber, S. C. (2011). Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8, Article 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-8-98

Turnbull, K. L. P., Cubides Mateus, D. M., LoCasale-Crouch, J., Lewin, D. S., & Williford, A. P. (2022). Sleep patterns and school readiness of pre-kindergarteners from racially and ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds. Journal of Pediatrics, 251, 178–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.07.018

World Health Organization. (2019). Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age: Summary. World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/325147

Zimmerman, F. J., & Christakis, D. A. (2005). Children’s television viewing and cognitive outcomes: A longitudinal analysis of national data. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159(7), 619–625. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.159.7.619

Downloads

Published

2025-06-20

Versions

2025-06-23 (2)
2025-06-20 (1)

How to Cite

Cadime, I., Santos, A. L., Ribeiro, I., & Martín-Aragoneses, M. T. (2025). The interplay between digital media, shared book reading and sleeping problems in early language development. Educación XX1, 28(2), 123–146. https://doi.org/10.5944/educxx1.39861