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Children who spend hours looking at screens every day are more misbehaved by the age of five, according to a study.
Preschoolers who use smartphones, tablets, and other devices for more than two hours a day are also seven times more likely to develop ADHD.
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Screen time has a "significant impact" on a child's development, researchers said, warning parents to cut back.
One study author suggested this is because screen time is taken away from healthier activities like sports or sleep. Just half an hour a day, or even less, would be the ideal amount for preschoolers, according to the researchers.
But experts in the field immediately dismissed the findings as having “critical shortcomings” and doing nothing to prove that screen time actually caused the bad behavior.
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Scientists at the University of Alberta studied more than 2,400 families and found that children glued to screens exhibit more significant behavioral problems.
As well as a higher risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), those who exceed two hours a day are five times more likely to be inattentive.
"We found that screen time had a significant impact at age five," said Piush Mandhane. Three-year-olds in the study spent an average of an hour and a half looking at screens every day. This dropped slightly to 1.4 hours for five-year-olds.
Researchers have found that screen time can even have a greater effect on a child's behavior than how much sleep they get or how stressed their parents are.
And this may be because it takes away from other aspects of life that could reduce the risk of attention problems.
Dr Mandhane told MailOnline: “Our data suggests that more screen time leads to less sleep.
Developing a regular sleep routine, consistent wake-up and bedtimes, and limiting screen time before bed is also an important part of growth, development, and behavior.
In another analysis, we found that children who watched more than 2 hours of screen time per day were almost 651 times less likely to sleep 10 hours per day. So, more screen time equals less sleep.
The study confirms previous research that also suggests sleep impairment, and other studies point to poorer brain development, mental health problems, and eye damage.
Lack of sleep in childhood could stunt brain growth and lead to problems later in life. Scientists at the CHEO Research Institute in Ottawa found that children aged eight to 11 had five percent worse brain function than their peers if they spent more than two hours a day looking at a screen.
This, they believe, may be because games and videos don't stimulate the brain in the same way as, say, reading a book.
It also likely meant they didn't sleep as well as others.
In published research, scientists found that organized sports and good sleep could actually protect brains from the harmful effects of excessive screen time.
They found that exercise itself was less important in improving children's behavior than participation in organized activities.
Dr. Tamana added: “The more time children spend playing organized sports, the less likely they are to have behavioral problems.
Many of the things you do through organized activities are really important for young children from an early age.
I think instead of screen time, it would be beneficial for parents to increase opportunities for other structured activities.”
While the researchers suggested that "less is more," they didn't recommend cutting it out completely. Instead, they said, it's a good opportunity to ensure children use electronic devices wisely. "Our data suggests that between zero and 30 minutes per day is the optimal amount of screen time," said Professor Mandhane.
“The preschool period is an ideal time for education about healthy relationships with screens.”
UK scientists criticized the study, saying it doesn't directly link screen time to bad behavior or ADHD. They added that the researchers overstepped their bounds by offering advice to parents and doctors based on a flawed paper.
Professor Andrew Przybylski, director of research at the University of Oxford's Internet Institute, said: 'There is no baseline data on children's behavior, so it is possible that children predisposed to behavioral problems are also predisposed to higher levels of screen time. The paper does not contextualize this correctly.
He added: "The authors go far beyond their results to provide advice for clinicians and educators. The correlations are very small and inconsistent."
“It is mildly shocking that the authors promote limiting screen time based on these findings, given that the evidence presented in the study suggests that almost every other factor analyzed was a much stronger predictor.”
Dr Bob Patton, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Surrey, said: 'While [the study] suggests that children under five who spend an average of two hours or more a day in front of screens are more likely to have an ADHD diagnosis, it provides no indication that screen time caused the problems.
While excessive baby monitor use may or may not contribute to the development of behavioral problems, parents should be aware of the possibility and ensure that young children participate in a variety of activities, both on and off the screen.”
