Deakin study looks at how ‘green time’ can help offset potential behavioural problems associated with screen time

Giving your children a break from their devices can help reduce their behavioural problems and stress, a Deakin University study suggests.

Parents are being encouraged to give their children some regular “green time” in natural environments to help offset potential behavioural problems associated with screen time.

In a world first, researchers from Deakin University are investigating if regularly getting children outdoors into nature to give them a break from sitting in front of screens can also “reboot” their curiosity.

The researchers believe regular green time can also bring harmony to families where technology may be creating stress and conflict.

PhD researcher Marina Torjinski is leading the three-part international study with Dr Sharon Horwood from Deakin’s School of Psychology.

Dionna Holland and daughter Chloe, 8. Picture: Tony Gough

They are recruiting parents worldwide to take part in Deakin’s green and screen time family study to explore the associations between nature exposure, screen use and parent-child relations.

“This study is not just about getting young children outdoors and getting them moving,” Miss Torjinski said. “For the first time we are doing specific research around nature: looking at family experiences around waterways, green parklands and tree-lined streets and how these environments can uniquely influence screen-related outcomes and family dynamics”.

“We don’t want parents to feel this is something to add to their already busy workload; that is not realistic and creates a sense of guilt. This is about what can parents add to their existing routines to balance some of the challenging child behaviours associated with screen time.”

Green time may be the antidote to screen time. Picture: iStock

She said for some families prolonged screen use can lead to increases in stress, cognitive fatigue and behavioural problems in children, but that time spent in natural environments can reduce levels of physical and psychological stress.

It can also help improve cognitive processes, mood, and help children regulate their emotional states and behaviours.

“This is a two-way street,” Miss Torjinski said. “If children feel calmer, they are better able to respond and manage their emotions and their parents feel calmer and they can respond in a more balanced way, which is important to healthy family relationships.”

The research is looking at whether children can ‘reboot’ their curiosity by spending more time outdoors. Picture: Tony Gough

“In the context of the busy tech-heavy modern lifestyle that many families are navigating at the moment, being in green, open spaces has the potential to counteract that.”

She says it can also help parents regain confidence in taking their children outdoors again following Covid lockdowns.

Miss Torjinski says this is the first study to look at whether time in natural environments can positively influence parent-child dynamics associated with screen time.

She says for those families living in urban areas without easy access to green spaces and nature, a walk down a tree-lined street is just as good, if a sense of curiosity and interest is sparked for children.

It’s thought regular green time can bring harmony to families where technology may be creating stress and conflict. Picture: Tony Gough

“Noticing nature is just as important as being in nature,” she said. “So for families in dense urban areas there are still opportunities to find green space. Even viewing a tree in the street or looking out of a window can have positive effects on wellbeing.”

Dr Horwood says parents are often concerned about the problems screen use can create in the home.

“This research will look at whether positive family experiences, such as time spent in nature, can help reduce the common experiences of family stress and conflict about screen time,” she said.

Montrose mum Dionne Holland and daughter Chloe, 8, regularly visit nature to refresh and recharge.

“As parents we get so busy that we sometimes forget to set time aside to do that with our children,” she said.

“As a working mum school holidays are a juggle for me and sometimes we revert to screen time. That’s OK, you can do both. It is about balance.

“Chloe really enjoys it when we get out and explore places, but she would happily sit on an iPad if I let her. We lock this time in (to go outdoors) and we both benefit.”

Ms Holland, who is also mum to Lilly, 17, and Harry, 14, said Chloe now really enjoys the amount of fun and excitement she can have in nature.

The research team is looking for parents of children aged between five and eight to take part in the study.

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