An examination of bedtime media and excessive screen time by Canadian preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Risky media use in terms of accumulating too much time in front of screens and usage before bedtime in early childhood is linked to developmental delays, reduced sleep quality, and unhealthy media use in later childhood and adulthood. For this reason, we examine patterns of media use in pre-school children and the extent to which child and family characteristics contribute to media use during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of digital media use by Canadian preschool-aged children (mean age = 3.45, N = 316) was conducted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic between April and August of 2020. Parents completed a questionnaire and 24-h recall diary in the context of an ongoing study of child digital media use. From these responses we estimated hours of average daily screen time, screen time in the past 24 h, average daily mobile device use, and media use before bedtime. Parents also answered questions about their child (i.e., age, sex, temperament), family characteristics (parental mediation style, parental screen time, education, income), and contextual features of the pandemic (ex., remote work, shared childcare). Daycare closures were directly assessed using a government website. RESULTS: Our results indicate that 64% of preschoolers used more than 2 h of digital media hours/day on average during the pandemic. A majority (56%) of children were also exposed to media within the hour before bedtime. Logistic and multinomial regressions revealed that child age and temperament, restrictive parental mediation, as well as parent digital media use, education, satisfaction with the division of childcare, remote work, and number of siblings and family income were all correlates of risky digital media use by preschoolers. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest widespread risky media use by preschoolers during the pandemic. Parenting practices that include using more restrictive mediation strategies may foster benefits in regulating young children's screen time.

Adolescent media use and its association to wellbeing in a Canadian national sample.

Our objective is to describe associations between media usage and multiple wellbeing indicators in a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth (CSTADS 2012-13) enrolled in grades 7 to 12 (N = 41,057). Youth reported media usage (television/movie viewing, videogame playing, and surfing the internet), wellbeing (academic achievement, school connectedness, self-esteem, physical activity, intake of fruits and vegetables, and bullying), and psychological (drug use, drinking, and smoking) and sociodemographic confounds (ethnicity, grade, province, gender). Videogame playing was negatively associated with academic achievement, b = -0.07 (99% CI, -0.08-05), physical activity, b = -3.09, (99% CI, -3.63-2.56), school connectedness, b = -0.03 (99% CI, -0.04-0.02), self-esteem, b = -0.13 (99% CI, -0.16-0.09), and the consumption of fruits and vegetables b = -0.07 (99% CI, -0.11-0.03). Internet usage was negatively related to self-esteem, b = -0.25 (99% CI, -0.28-0.21), school connectedness, b = -0.03 (99% CI, -0.03-0.02), academic achievement, b = -0.02 (99% CI, -0.03-0.002) and physical activity b = -1.42 (99% CI, -1.92-0.91). Finally, television exposure was linked with less fruits and vegetable consumption, b = -0.09 (99% CI, -0.12-0.06), academic achievement b = -0.05 (99% CI, -0.07-0.04), school connectedness b = -0.02 (99% CI, -0.03-0.01), self-esteem b = -0.06 (99% CI, -0.11-0.003), and physical activity b = -1.09 (99% CI, -1.64-0.54). Internet, television/movies, and videogame time also increased the odds of bullying others by 9%, OR = 1.09 (99% CI, 1.04-1.14) 8%, OR = 1.08 (99% CI, 1.01-1.16) and 7%, OR = 1.07 (99% CI, 1.01-1.14) respectively. Overall effect sizes were small yet may represent significant impairment for heavy media users.

Analysis of factors related to illegal tobacco sales to young people in Ontario.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and to discuss factors influencing illegal merchant sales of tobacco to underage people in Ontario, Canada. DESIGN: Results were obtained through random retail compliance checks of tobacco merchants. A multivariate analysis specified the relationship between selected independent variables and the willingness of tobacco merchants to sell to minors. The selected independent variables included retail operation type, community population size, the presence of tobacco production, signage, sex and age of volunteers, smoking prevalence rates, and enforcement rates. PARTICIPANTS: A random, stratified sample of 438 tobacco retailers in 186 communities in Ontario. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Willingness of merchants to sell tobacco to minors. RESULTS: Older youths and girls were more likely to be sold tobacco products. Purchase attempts carried out in tobacco-producing regions were also statistically related to illegal sales. CONCLUSIONS: Policy efforts to control youth access to tobacco in Canada may need to invoke legislation requiring merchants to request proper identification from customers who appear to be under the age of 25, and who seek to purchase tobacco products. Further attention could also be directed at tobacco control policies and enforcement strategies that need to consider the unique challenges faced by jurisdictions where the tobacco industry is a powerful presence.