Use of digital devices by preschoolers

The process of increasing digitalization affects not only medicine, education and logistics, but also the organization of the child's daily routine, where the use of gadgets is becoming commonplace, while the timing of the onset of digital device use and the norms of screen time duration remain poorly understood. Objective. To identify the timing of onset and extent of use of digital devices in preschoolers' daily lives. Patients and methods. The study was carried out on the basis of the Children's Health Center in Kemerovo. Parents of 486 children (253 boys and 233 girls) studying in preparatory groups of preschool educational institutions participated in the one-stage study. All parents filled in a standardized questionnaire developed by the authors and including questions about the peculiarities of the mode of use of digital devices throughout the child's life. Statistical analysis was performed using the Fisher test (Pearson's χ2 test), Student's t-test for independent samples. Results. The study revealed the use of digital devices among children from 1–3 months of age to listen to singing (7.40%, n = 36), with one in three children in the first few months of life (38.88%, n = 14) having a digital device in the crib, next to the child's head, or under the pillow. At 10–12 months of age, digital devices were used among 66.88% (n = 330) of surveyed children; at 12–24 months of age, all surveyed children (n = 486) became digital device users.The duration of screen time was characterized by a continuous increase during all periods studied and reached 3 h 53 min for boys and 2 h 51 min for girls at the age of 6–7 years. Conclusion. Digital devices among children began to be used from the first months of a child's life. During the first few years, children gradually shifted from passive screen time to active screen time.High screen time among preschool children was a result of lack of parental involvement in children's intellectual and social health. Key words: children, preschoolers, children's health, screen time, digitalization, digital devices, gadgets