Parent smartphone use linked to slower vocabulary growth in young children

Primary parents’ smartphone screen time was associated with slower receptive vocabulary growth among children from ages 5 to 7 years, while children’s ownership of a digital device was associated with lower language scores at baseline, according to findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.¹

The prospective cohort study included 747 children in Norway who were followed annually for 3 years. Investigators sought to distinguish differences in language skills already present at baseline from changes in language development over time, an issue that has limited interpretation of previous studies examining screen use and language outcomes.

“Concerns about screen use and early language development are widespread, and prior research has reported mixed findings,” the investigators wrote. “Many studies have not distinguished baseline differences from developmental change, leaving uncertainty about whether screen use is associated with actual language development in early childhood.”

How were screen use and language development assessed?

Children and their parents were enrolled in the population-based SpedAims Kohort in spring 2023. The children had a mean age of 4.9 years at baseline, and 50.1% of the 718 participants with reported sex were female.

Primary parents reported children’s weekday and weekend screen time and whether the child owned a tablet, computer, or smartphone. Mothers and fathers separately reported daily social media use. The primary parent also obtained their average daily smartphone screen time directly from smartphone usage data.

Children underwent standardized language testing annually. Receptive vocabulary was assessed with the British Picture Vocabulary Scale, and receptive grammar was measured with the Test for Reception of Grammar. Investigators used growth models to evaluate baseline language performance and changes from ages 5 to 7 years, adjusting analyses for parental education and household income. Models examining device ownership were also adjusted for birth order.

At baseline, 26% of children spent more than 1 hour per day using screens on weekdays, while 22% spent more than 2 hours per day on weekends. More than 45% owned at least 1 digital device. Primary parents averaged 3.21 hours of smartphone screen time per day.

Parent smartphone use associated with vocabulary growth

Most measures of screen use were not associated with children’s language growth. However, each additional hour of daily smartphone use by the primary parent was associated with 0.42 fewer points of annual growth in receptive vocabulary (95% CI, −0.66 to −0.18). The association remained after adjustment for family socioeconomic factors and was not observed for receptive grammar.

Children’s own daily screen time and maternal and paternal social media use were not significantly associated with growth in receptive vocabulary or grammar.

The investigators noted that greater overall parent smartphone use could represent fewer opportunities for language-rich interactions. “Higher overall screen engagement within the family may displace high-quality interactions, such as shared reading and storytelling, activities that promote word learning,” they wrote.

Device ownership tied to lower baseline language scores

Children who owned at least 1 digital device at ages 4 to 5 years scored 5.13 points lower on receptive vocabulary (95% CI, −7.43 to −2.82) and 4.56 points lower on receptive grammar (95% CI, −7.56 to −1.55) at baseline compared with children without their own device. Device ownership was not significantly associated with subsequent rates of language growth.

The investigators cautioned that the direction of the association between device ownership and language skills remains unclear. Screen use was assessed only at baseline, and the study evaluated the quantity rather than the content or context of screen use. Parent smartphone data also could not distinguish work-related from personal use. The sample had higher educational attainment and household income than the general Norwegian population.

“This cohort study applied latent growth models and found that primary parent smartphone screen time was associated with slower growth in children’s receptive vocabulary from approximately ages 5 to 7 years,” the authors concluded.

For pediatricians, the findings suggest that discussions of screen use may extend beyond children’s individual screen time to include patterns of technology use across the household.

Reference

Yang J, Furnes B, Morken F, et al. Screen use and children’s language development from ages 5 to 7 years. JAMA Pediatr. Published online August 17, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.3490