Abstract
Increasing amounts of screen time among young children has become a growing concern. Childcare centres maybe one important setting to intervene. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of screen time and screen time policies within childcare centres as well as the association between these policies and screen time among toddlers (19–35 months) and preschoolers (36–60 months). Directors (n = 238) of childcare centres in Alberta, Canada completed a brief questionnaire. The median weekly screen time for toddlers and preschoolers was 0 min/week. However, many centres were still providing screen time (Toddlers: 22%; Preschoolers: 47%). About a third of centres did not have a written screen time policy in place. Centres with a written screen time policy and more policy topics had a lower likelihood of providing no screen time compared to centres without a policy or less policy topics. In the future, targeted interventions may be needed for centres providing undesirable amounts of screen time to children. Such interventions should consider implementing resources to support the translation of policy into practice or the translation of practice into policy.
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Data not included in manuscript and supplementary files is available upon request from corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all participating childcare centre directors for taking time to complete the questionnaire.
Funding
VC is supported by a CIHR New Investigator Salary Award and a University of Alberta Killam Accelerator Award.
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MP and VC conceived and designed the study. MP oversaw the study and was responsible for data analysis, interpretation, and drafting the manuscript. VC assisted in data interpretation and writing of the paper. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Predy, M., Carson, V. Screen Time Policy in Alberta Childcare Centres. Early Childhood Educ J 52, 13–20 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01393-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01393-4