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Parental Education and Children's Screen Time

Parental Educational Intervention Reduces Screen Time and Improves Sleep Disturbances and Attention Problems in Preschool Children: a Clustered Randomized Controlled Study

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04097587
Enrollment
129
Registered
2019-09-20
Start date
2018-03-13
Completion date
2018-12-28
Last updated
2019-09-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Screen Time

Brief summary

The study was to investigate the efficacy of a parental educational program on reducing screen use, and improving sleep quality and psychosocial adaptations in children aged 4-6 years.

Detailed description

A total of 129 parent-child dyads were randomly allocated to two groups: experimental group (receiving parental education, n=63), and control group (daily activities, n=66). Data were collected before and after intervention. Instruments included screen time, Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, and Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17. A linear mixed model analysis was used to examine the efficacy of education intervention.

Interventions

OTHERcontrol group

received standard school classes and usual activities offered at the kindergarten. Briefly, kindergarten activities included daily learning activities, outdoor activities, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and nap time.

BEHAVIORALexperimental group

This program was carried out for 50 min/week over 8 weeks to empower parents with knowledge and self-efficacy about children's screen use, and motivate them to monitor and change their children's screen behaviors. Teaching strategies included lectures, group discussions, reflection, role playing, and peer sharing (Table 1). Topics included 1) parents' and children's screen use, 2) the relationship between network equipment and children's internet use, 3) the positive and negative effects of excessive screen use on children's physical and psychological development, 4) limiting screen use at mealtimes and bedtime, 5) strategies for screen-related devices, 6) alternative activities to screen use, such as board games and outdoor activities, 7) setting a target of appropriate screen times, and 8) encouraging the signing of a contract between parents and children to limit screen time. We also provided parents with a handbook of the course content.

Sponsors

Taipei Medical University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

A clustered randomized controlled study with a parallel-group design.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
48 Months to 72 Months
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* children aged 4\ 6 years with screen time of ≥ 2 h/day.

Exclusion criteria

* cerebral palsy, * mental retardation * psychosis * Down's syndrome * chronic disease * hearing impairment.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
screen timeone week assessmentchildren's screen time, was measured by parents as the time children spent watching TV/DVD/videos, playing TV games, and using a computer on weekdays and weekends.

Countries

Taiwan

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026