Norwegian study links parental smartphone use to subtle language delays in young children

A Norwegian study suggests that parents’ heavy smartphone use may impact young children’s language skills, highlighting the importance of mindful device use during family interactions.

A new Norwegian study suggests that parents’ heavy smartphone use may be linked to slower language development in young children, adding to a growing body of research that points to screen habits as a family, rather than purely child, issue. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics and reported by VG, followed 747 Norwegian children from around age five to seven and found that higher parental screen time was associated with slightly weaker growth in receptive vocabulary. Researchers said the pattern was small but statistically meaningful.

Øistein Anmarkrud, a professor at the University of Oslo and one of the authors, told VG that parents should be mindful of how often they reach for their phones when they are with their children. Junyi Yang, another researcher on the project, said the results should not be read as proof of a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but as evidence that family screen use may be a risk factor when combined with other pressures.

According to the study, each additional hour the main caregiver spent on a smartphone each day was associated with about 0.42 fewer points of annual growth in the child’s vocabulary score. Children who already had their own digital device at the start of the study also scored lower on vocabulary and grammar than children without one. The researchers said the association held even after adjusting for factors including parents’ education, household income and birth order.

The findings fit with earlier reviews that have also raised concerns about screen exposure and language development. A scoping review in the South African Journal of Communication Disorders and another in Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health found that many studies reported negative language effects from higher screen time, although the size of the impact varied and factors such as content, co-viewing and parental involvement mattered. Other studies, including research in Frontiers in Public Health and Children, have likewise linked both children’s and parents’ screen habits with poorer language outcomes.

The Norwegian team said the mechanism may be less about screen time alone than about what it displaces. Smartphones can interrupt attention and reduce the back-and-forth interaction that helps children build vocabulary, the researchers wrote. They also noted that parental mental health could influence both screen use and language environment, and said more research is needed before stronger conclusions can be drawn.

Their practical advice is modest: be aware of phone use during play, conversation and shared reading; avoid repeated digital interruptions; and think carefully before giving young children their own devices. The study’s broader message, the researchers said, is that screen use should be seen in the context of the whole household, not just as a child’s problem.