A mother rocks her 18-month-old son on her lap at a busy government vaccination clinic in Kollam. He struggles and makes a fuss. However, there are no lullabies or toys. Instead, she reaches into her bag and takes out her smartphone. Immediately, the child became quiet, his eyes fixed on the screen. Other parents around her are following suit, practicing the quiet rituals that are part of everyday parenting in Kerala.
A new related study conducted by the Kerala chapter of the Indian Association of Pediatrics (IAP) has found that screen exposure among infants and toddlers in India has reached alarming levels, with nearly 89.1% of children under the age of two using screens on a regular basis.
Despite repeated warnings from experts over the past decade that mobile phones should not be used to get children to eat, sleep or relax, parenting practices using mobile phones continue to go unchecked in many Kerala families. The study was conducted by Dr Manoj Mony, neonatologist at Kerala Health Services and Kollam regional president of IAP. His study looked at children under 2 years of age who were brought to government health facilities for routine 18-month immunizations. We also assessed family sociodemographic background and parents’ education level to understand how digital exposure takes root in early childhood.
The research results are clear. Toddlers from families whose mothers only had a high school education had 100% screen exposure, while children of mothers with a PG degree had significantly lower exposure, although still high at 80%. Children in joint family households were found to have a higher screen exposure rate (91.5%) compared to nuclear family households (78.9%). According to Dr. Manoj, this likely reflects differences in care dynamics. Shared caregiving and household routines can sometimes lead to increased reliance on screens as a distraction.
One of the biggest concerns is using cell phones while breastfeeding. Nearly seven in 10 parents report using screens during feeding times, a habit many consider harmless but pediatric experts strongly warn against. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time at all for children under 18 months, except for video calls. Children aged 18 to 24 months can be introduced to high-quality content, but only with parental involvement and supervision. But Kerala’s figures show that the cultural shift towards digital parenting is spreading rapidly even among educated families who are aware of health guidelines.
“We are seeing infants watching videos and not being able to eat without looking at the screen,” Dr. Manoj told TNIE. “Parents say it’s the only way to keep their child calm, but what we’re sacrificing is something much bigger: language development, emotional bonding, curiosity, social awareness, and fundamental learning through human interaction.”
He described cases where children of parents returning from the Gulf appeared socially withdrawn, made little eye contact, and displayed language delays. The symptoms many parents feared were early signs of autism. “Parents Google symptoms and panic and say their child has ‘autism.’ But after we stopped screens and reintroduced real interaction, many of these children improved dramatically,” he said. “Autism is a pathological condition, but what we are seeing more and more is screen-induced developmental delays and preventable social crises.”
The study was supervised by Dr. Jeena, Department of Community Medicine, Parippally Medical College Hospital. The findings were officially announced by Kollam District Medical Officer Dr MS Anu. This is positioned as a pilot project and a larger state-level initiative is needed to assess the digital habits of young children in Kerala.
