Early, prolonged screen exposure may contribute to childhood speech delay, especially as clinicians now see more cases compared with a decade ago, a Paediatrician, Dr. Leo Odudu, has warned.
The highly experienced paediatrician made this known when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.
Odudu linked rising speech delays to widespread smartphone, tablet, and TV use, describing screens as “the great pacifier” when parents substitute devices for direct communication and teaching.
According to him, clinicians are increasingly managing children with speech delay, unlike 10 years to 15 years ago, noting that studies showed that four percent to five percent of children under four years globally had speech delay from different causes.
He explained that language development begins in infancy through babbling and caregiver interaction, with meaningful words expected around 12 months and rapid vocabulary growth between 12 months and 18 months.
He said concerns included poor articulation, limited vocabulary, and unrealistic expectations by parents comparing children with siblings or neighbours.
Odudu said: “Researchers note excessive screen time can impair brain white matter development, confuse emerging language patterns, and produce poor articulation, limited vocabulary, weakened attention, and social interaction difficulties.”
The paediatrician said speech delay was previously linked mainly to birth asphyxia, severe jaundice, and congenital syndromic defects.
He said children with normal birth histories were now increasingly presenting with delayed speech development.
Odudu said early exposure to smartphones, tablets, computers, and other screens was a common factor identified in many cases.
He said digital devices supported education, communication, work, and information access, but could be harmful when misused by children.
He said language development begins in infancy through babbling and cooing during the first three months of life.
He said children should begin saying meaningful words at about 12 months and develop 10 words to 50 words between 12 months and 18 months.
According to him, children learn language through hearing, repetition, interaction, and communication with parents and caregivers.
Odudu said some parents relied on cartoons and educational videos instead of serving as their children’s primary language teachers.
He said speech development depended on hearing ability, pitch, intonation, and diction, while some babies were exposed to screens from three months.
The paediatrician said many parents used screens to distract children during feeding, describing gadgets as “the great pacifier”.
He warned that prolonged screen exposure increased speech delay risks, with some infants spending four to six hours daily on screens.
Odudu said excessive screen use had been linked to impaired white matter development affecting language and literacy networks in the brain.
He said the effects of excessive screen exposure could persist until children were about eight years old.
According to him, children exposed heavily to cartoons could become confused by cartoon language, local dialects, Nigerian English, and crèche communication styles.
He said such language confusion could make it difficult for the developing brain to process and adopt a communication pattern.
“At best, the infants resort to gibberish or cartoon language or just fail to make any meaningful sound at age two,” he said.
Odudu said children in rural communities with limited gadget exposure often acquired local dialects easily and communicated effectively by age two.
He identified poor social interaction, tantrums, weak attention span and difficulty with group play as other consequences of excessive screen exposure.
He said some children ignored their names but responded immediately to favourite cartoon sounds, causing concerns about hearing impairment.
He said countries including Australia and the UK had introduced policies to restrict children’s access to social media and mobile phones in schools.
Odudu said global efforts were increasingly focused on reducing children’s contact with gadgets to support healthy development.
He cautioned against readily diagnosing children with autism spectrum disorders without considering their need for more interaction with parents and siblings.
The paediatrician urged parents to reduce children’s unnecessary screen exposure and communicate with them regularly.
