Association Between Electronic Media Use and Development of Children Aged 2–5 Years in Child Development Centers, Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study

Excessive electronic media use among young children is an emerging global health concern that may adversely affect developmental outcomes. As access to technology increases in Thailand, understanding the relationship between media use and early childhood development is critical for health professionals and families. This descriptive correlational study examined the relationship between electronic media use and developmental outcomes in children aged 2–5 years attending child development centers in one province in the lower northeast of Thailand. The participants included 128 parent-child pairs. Instruments consisted of general information and media use questionnaires, a media use log, and the Developmental Surveillance and Promotion Manual. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were employed for data analysis. Overall, 55.5% of children aged 2–5 years demonstrated age-appropriate development across all domains. When analyzed by specific developmental domains, the highest prevalence of developmental delays was found in fine motor and cognitive skills, followed by expressive language, social and self-help skills, receptive language, and gross motor skills, respectively. A significant association was found between children’s overall development and both the duration of electronic media use and parental involvement during media use. Children who used electronic media for more than one hour per day showed statistically significant delays in fine motor skills, cognitive skills, and expressive language. Moreover, parental involvement during children’s media use was significantly associated with fine motor, cognitive, and social and self-help skills. In contrast, the number of electronic media used and the type of media content show no significant association with the specific developmental domains. These findings suggest that routine screening of media use should be included in developmental assessments, that parents should be educated on recommended screen time limits, and that active parental co-viewing should be promoted to support optimal child development.