Kids Consume More Mature Media When Parents Overuse Screens

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Yikes! The way parents use their phones around their kids may influence how much inappropriate content kids consume.

Researchers reported Feb. 4 in the journal BMC Pediatrics that the odds of kids watching R-rated movies or playing mature-rated video games rose with higher parental screen use and inconsistent family media rules.

The study analyzed data from more than 10,000 12- and 13-year-olds who were part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

“We wanted to explore parent rules and adolescents’ exposure to mature content because there’s a lack of research to guide parents of young adolescents on media use,” lead author Dr. Jason Nagata told CNN in an email.

Parents in the study answered a 14-item questionnaire, rating their agreement with statements such as, “I try to limit how much I use a screen-based device when I am with my child” on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree).

Meanwhile, kids self-reported how often they watched R-rated movies and played mature-rated video games, using a 0-to-3 scale (never to all the time).

Results showed that for every unit increase in parental screen use, the likelihood of kids consuming mature content rose 11%

“Our findings suggest that parental monitoring and limiting adolescent screen time are significantly associated with lower mature video game use and R-rated movie consumption in adolescents,” the study concluded.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/kids-consume-more-mature-media-when-parents-overuse-screens