The researchers found that when parents are under stress, household rules about screen time often go out the window. Moms and dads are not equal: mothers who reported high stress said they were more likely to use devices in front of their children and less likely to monitor or limit their kids’ screen use, unlike high-stress fathers, who were more likely to limit children’s screen time.

Lead author Lisa Tang, a PhD student in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, says, “We found parenting stress does indeed affect how parents manage screen time but influenced mothers and fathers differently.”

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University of Guelph researchers found that children whose parents dole out screen time as a reward or revoke it as punishment spend more time on a smartphone, tablet or computer or in front of the television than children whose parents don’t.

When you give food as a reward, it makes children like the carrot less and the cake more. Same thing with screen time, says U of G researcher Lisa Tang.

Currently only 15 per cent of Canadian preschoolers meet the Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines of less than one hour of recreational screen time per day. Children under two years of age should not have any.

The study found a majority of parents reported using screen time as a way to control behaviour, especially on weekends.

Sedentary activity is associated with a greater risk of obesity as well as poorer academic and social skills later in life, says Tang.

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