68% of Parents With Children Under 6 Say Their Kids Need a ‘Detox’ From Technology. Here’s Why That’s Scary, Say Experts

March 27, 2025 – In a Fortune article, the author highlights data from the latest Bright Horizons’ Modern Family Index and speaks to Rachel Robertson, Bright Horizons’ chief academic officer, about screen time and young children. 

“We are helping these little people develop the foundation they need for the rest of their lives,” Robertson says. “They are going to be future adults. What do children need now in their development, in the amazing first five years of life, that will prepare them to thrive for the rest of their life? Screens do not add to any of that early development—and in fact, they can really detract from it, and we can’t get that time back.”

For example, says Robertson, an early-education expert, if you take your little kid to the grocery store and they are starting to fuss while sitting in the shopping cart, you might give them a screen as a distraction. “It certainly helps them, in the moment, to calm down. But long-term, they have missed an opportunity to develop regulation skills, to manage emotions, and to build their executive function to persist through waiting times,” she explains. 

Read the full article here.