Children soothed with digital devices could have anger issues in future: Study

New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) Pacifying children by handing them digital devices when they are throwing tantrums can disable them in managing emotions later in life, which can grow into anger management issues, a research has found.

Conversely, parents of children, who already had poor emotional control, were found to be overly relying on electronic devices to silence them, worsening the pre-existing conditions.

It is known that a child learns much about self-control, including how to choose a deliberate response over an automatic one, during the first few years of their life.

However, a team of researchers from Hungary and Canada found that the recent trend of distracting children by showing them content on tablets and smartphones to control their unpleasant emotional responses can cripple their ability to effectively recognise and manage emotions later in life.

"Tantrums cannot be cured by digital devices. Children have to learn how to manage their negative emotions for themselves. They need the help of their parents during this learning process, not the help of a digital device," Veronika Konok, a researcher at Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, and first author of the study published in the journal Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said.

Following 300 parents of children -- aged two to five years old over a period of one year -- the researchers found that children, who were pacified using digital devices, showed poorer anger and frustration management skills. Parents were asked to respond to questionnaires which assessed how they and their children used media.

Conversely, the team also found that poorer behaviour control in a child meant parents resorting to digital devices more often as a management tool.

The more the children were given devices when they threw tantrums, the lesser they were seen to make a deliberate effort in order to control their behaviour, the authors found.

"It's not surprising that parents more frequently (use digital devices to calm children down) if their child has emotion regulation problems, but our results highlight that this strategy can lead to the escalation of a pre-existing issue," Konok said.

Stressing the importance of not avoiding situations frustrating for the child, the researchers recommended that the parents coach their children through difficult moments, help them recognise and handle their emotions.

The authors also said that the parents should receive support from health professionals through training and counselling methods, which their findings could help inform.

This could benefit children's mental health and well-being, they said. PTI