Does Prohibiting Kids' Mobile Device Use at Check-Ups Improve Developmental Surveillance?

Children's use of mobile devices during clinic encounters has become increasingly common. To evaluate whether such device use makes it more difficult to assess young children's development, researchers randomized over 100 children aged 18 to 36 months to a device-prohibited condition (parents were asked not to let their child use a mobile device [smartphone or tablet]) or a device-allowed condition during a well-child visit.

Providers were blinded to the child's study assignment; after the visit, they were asked to characterize the child's gross-motor, fine-motor, communication, problem-solving, and personal-social development as delayed, borderline, or typical. Parents completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) after the visit. Approximately half of the children in the device-allowed group actually used a device during their visit.

Providers were more likely to miss delays (rate them as typical when the global ASQ-3 score was borderline or delayed) in the device-prohibited group (53%) versus the device-allowed group (28%). A provider assessment/ASQ-3 score discrepancy existed for identifying fine-motor delays specifically (40% in device-prohibited vs. 24% in device-allowed). Findings did not differ by provider training or previous knowledge of the patient or when limiting analysis to only the children who actually used devices.