Family practices related to the quality and quantity of smartphone use and early executive-linguistic development [Prácticas en el hogar relacionadas con la calidad y cantidad del uso del smartphone y desarrollo ejecutivo-lingüístico temprano] Prácticas en el hogar relacionadas con la calidad y cantidad del uso del smartphone y desarrollo ejecutivo-lingüístico temprano [Family practices related to the quality and quantity of smartphone use and early executive-linguistic development]

Abstract

There is growing interest in understanding how smartphone use may impact early childhood development. In this study, we adopted a latent variable approach to examine parental practices related to smartphone use and their effects on young children’s executive and linguistic development. Specifically, we considered two factors related to this use: a quantity factor, comprising various measures of smartphone exposure, and a quality factor, reflecting how often families employ strategies that promote contingent interactions and support learning during screen time. Additionally, we explored the role of parental education in shaping these practices. Results indicate that greater exposure has detrimental effects on young children’s executive functioning and communicative-linguistic performance. In contrast, higher quality positively influences expressive language skills which, in turn, are associated with better executive skills. In this context, maternal education not only shows a direct positive impact on children’s executive and linguistic development, but also an indirect effect on communicative-linguistic skills through higher frequency of high-quality child-adult interactions during screen time. These findings point to the need to minimize smartphone exposure at these ages, while highlighting the importance of embedding their use into environments that optimises screen time. They also emphasize the role of family education in parents’ screen-related practices.