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Young Children’s Screen Time, Executive Functions, and Language Development: Longitudinal Moderation of Parent/Child Co-Viewing and Media Content
 

Young Children’s Screen Time, Executive Functions, and Language Development: Longitudinal Moderation of Parent/Child Co-Viewing and Media Content

Chris L. Porter, Laura A. Stockdale, Hailey G. Holmgren, Ashley M. Fraser, Vanessa R. Rainey, Brandon N. Clifford, Talise Hirschi, Emilie Davis, Kevin Collier Sarah M. Coyne
Developmental psychology, Vol.online ahead of print
06/22/2026
: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0002201
: 42329718
: WOS:001797576500001
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regulatory development screen time Child Development Cognitive Development or Processes Psychology
There is growing interest in how screen-based media is linked to young children’s regulatory development. However, findings on the relationship between screen time and regulatory abilities remain mixed, highlighting the need to consider additional contextual factors (e.g., Barr, 2019). This study investigated whether screen time at age two predicted hot and cold executive functions (EF) and language outcomes at age four. It also tested whether these associations were moderated by parent-child co-viewing behaviors and the type of media content children commonly consumed (educational vs. violent). Participants included 306 parent-child dyads (62% White, 22% Hispanic/Latino, 9% Black, 2% Asian, 5% mixed/other race), with 12% reporting an annual income below 20,000. Primary caregivers reported children’s screen time at age two (M = 28.13 months, SD = 6.84), and children’s EF and language were assessed at age four (M = 4.07 years, SD = 4.0 months) using standardized assessments (e.g., NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery) and Kochanska’s effortful control/EF tasks (i.e., snack delay/whisper/night-day). Higher screen time at age two was associated with poorer performance on both hot and cold EF tasks and lower receptive vocabulary at age four. Parent-child co-viewing predicted better working memory, and higher exposure to educational content was linked to stronger EF and language outcomes. However, neither co-viewing nor educational content moderated the effects of screen time on developmental outcomes over time. In contrast, higher exposure to violent content moderated children’s attentional shifting performance. Overall, these findings suggest that early screen exposure—particularly to violent content—may negatively impact children’s cognitive/regulatory development.
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