Sleep, screen time, and family meal frequency in preschool children: A pilot study.
Katey Hayes, Susan G Williams, Sharon Fruh and 3 others
PMID 32701879WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers reported preschool children averaged 10.32 hours of sleep nightly.
Unemployed caregivers reported 7.30 hours, versus 10.46 hours for employed caregivers. 69% of caregivers reported children sometimes used screens before bed, and family meals were reported three to four times weekly by 37%.
Key findings
01Unemployed caregivers reported their children got 7.30 hours of sleep nightly, compared with 10.46 hours for employed caregivers and 10.00 hours for the other employment group.
0269% of caregivers reported their children sometimes watched TV or used a handheld device before bed.
0337% of caregivers reported eating family meals together three to four times per week, and 27% reported five or more times per week.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a pilot convenience sample of 54 caregivers from one preschool center, so it cannot represent all families. Caregiver reports were used for child sleep, screen time, and family meals, with no measured sleep, screen time, or body composition. Ten of 64 surveys were excluded for missing or inattentive answers, and many open-ended questions were misinterpreted. Total screen viewing times were excluded from analysis because many reported implausible daily totals. Income data were incomplete or ambiguous for many participants. The study did not test an intervention, so it cannot show that nurse practitioner advice changes habits or obesity risk.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest. The paper is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the sleep differences by employment or the screen use reports as proof that screen time or unemployment caused less sleep. This was a small self-report pilot, total screen viewing times were not analyzed, and the study did not measure child BMI.