Effects of parental education on screen time, sleep disturbances, and psychosocial adaptation among Asian preschoolers: A randomized controlled study

Purpose: A recent increase in screen time during early childhood has adversely affected the sleep and psychosocial health of children; however, limited information is available regarding effective interventions to reduce the screen time among them. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a parental educational program on screen use, sleep quality, and psychosocial adaptation among preschoolers. Design and methods: A clustered randomized controlled study with a parallel-group design was conducted. Preschoolers with a screen time of ≥2 h/day and their parents were recruited. In total, 14 kindergartens containing 129 parent–child dyads were randomly allocated to either the experimental group (receiving parental education, N = 63 dyads) or the control group (daily activities, N = 66 dyads). Data were collected before and after the intervention. A screen time questionnaire, the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, and the Pediatric Symptom checklist-17 were provided to the participants. A linear mixed-model analysis was performed to examine the efficacy of the intervention. Results: After the intervention, the screen time of children in the experimental group was significantly reduced (effect size: 0.83, p <.001), and they presented improved sleep quality (effect size: 0.57, p =.01) and attention score (effect size: 0.77, p =.02) for psychosocial adaptation. Conclusions: Parental education is an effective intervention for reducing screen time and improving sleep quality and attention among preschoolers. Practice implications: Healthcare professionals should consider implementing parental educational programs to reduce screen time, and thus improve the sleep quality and psychosocial health of preschoolers.