By Rebecca Oberg, director of Birth to 19's Institute for the Early Years. She leads on the strategic direction of 50 Things To Do to achieve a screen-free future for children.
Our Less Screen Time, More Play Time initiative, which launched in May 2025, isn’t just about raising awareness of the challenges posed by increased screen use in young children. It’s also about exploring how parents’ own use of devices affects their children.
After all, screens – especially phones – have become such an integral part of our lives that we almost forget how much time we spend interacting with them throughout the day.
It’s very easy, for instance, as parents, whenever we have a quiet moment, to pick up our phone to enjoy a quick scroll through social media or to catch up on messages that have come in.
But while a few minutes on our phone might seem harmless, research has shown that these moments of screen time interrupt or replace valuable face-to-face time with our young children. And the effects of this can be more powerful than we might think, especially for our youngest babies.
The still face experiment: a powerful insight into connection
It’s nearly 30 years since I first came across the still face experiment and I still recall the unease I felt watching this footage at university. If you’ve not come across this before, back in the 1970s, the American developmental psychologist, Dr Edward Tronick, conducted what’s now known as the “still face” experiment.
It was a simple but striking study that showed a mother interacting lovingly with her baby, smiling, talking and responding to their expressions. Then, as part of the experiment, the mother suddenly stopped interacting. With a blank face she became “still” and unresponsive to her baby. And within seconds, the baby grew distressed.
The baby tried to reengage their mother, smiling, cooing, reaching out. In other words, as Dr Tronic explained, she deployed “all of her abilities to try and get her mother back”.
When nothing worked, the baby became visibly upset, even turning away in confusion and frustration.
The message was clear: babies are hardwired for connection. They rely on our facial expressions, tone of voice and presence to feel safe and understood. Which is why face time with their parents matters.
How screens mimic the still face
As parents, when we’re absorbed in our phones – checking messages, scrolling social media, replying to emails, catching up on life admin – we’re often physically present but emotionally unavailable.
From a child’s point of view, this can feel a lot like the "still face". As parents, if our gaze is directed towards our screen, it’s very likely that we’ll miss smiles and greetings, that important eye contact will be delayed or not reciprocated, that questions will go unanswered – key ways that children feel connected and secure.
Over time, this can subtly impact a child’s:
- Emotional development
- Sense of safety and attachment
- Language and communication skills
Practitioners also need to be more conscious of screen use in front of children in settings, as my colleague explored in a recent post. This isn’t about casual, non-work-related device use. It’s more about how tech is used in a professional capacity, whether it’s carrying out observations, taking photographs, finding resources or taking the register.
And it’s not about being perfect. No one can be fully present all the time and devices are a fundamental part of practitioner toolkits. But being mindful of when and how we use screens, especially during shared play, mealtimes or getting ready for sleep time, can make a real difference to children’s developmental outcomes.
We can still reconnect
The good news is that just like in the experiment, babies and young children are remarkably resilient. Meaning, if we get distracted or miss a cue, we can still reconnect. A smile, a cuddle or a moment of focused attention helps repair and rebuild that bond.
Now, there’s no denying the fact that technology is – and has been – a big part of 21st century life. And it’s not going away. The convergence of the internet with the smartphone has fundamentally transformed the way that we live and work, from being able to access our emails on the go, take photos with a phone and check the weather with a simple tap.
But understanding the intrinsic power of being present in the lives of children, as both parents and practitioners, and the importance of those small, everyday interactions, can help us strike a healthier balance. Because to our children, our faces are their world.
Whether you’re a family looking for ideas on screen-free activities or a practitioner keen to understand how our initiative can support you in a setting, our dedicated website and free app has you covered.