Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative
From: Toni Hassan, Development Wellness Educator and Author (based in Adelaide) and Dr Grace Hancock, Clinical Psychologist (based in Melbourne)
Dear Committee Chair, Dr Mike Freelander,
We are each advocates for children’s mental health. We are members of the Global Alliance for Inspiring Non-Tech Infant Nurturing and Growth (GAINING, a new international movement focused on supporting infants to thrive in every way) and of the Australian Start Smart Screen Coalition (SSSC), whose members also include the Australian Primary School Principals Association and practitioners with Maternal, Child and Family Health Nurses Australia (MCaFHNA).
The context of this Australian Government inquiry into the development of the Thriving Kids program is a significant rise in autism incidence in Australia (41.8% increase between 2018 and 2022, ABS 2024) and around the world.
Researchers and scientists are helping us learn new things about babies’ growth and development that they’ve never learned before, because babies are experiencing things like they’ve never experienced before, namely, an environment of ubiquitous digital screens.
Excessive screen time has been found to be associated with differences in the brains of children from birth (The second half of this submission, pages 4-5, presents the evidence in clear language). For that reason, we urge the Federal Government to ensure this new initiative considers the role of screens as part of an early prevention focus.
At the heart of healthy child development is parent-carer attachment. It is fundamental to all of the child’s future relationships and the building block for emotional well-being. Digital technology seems to be getting in the way of early attachment and formation.
The relationship between screen time and autism is complex and not fully understood yet, but there are concerning findings.
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While Autism and ADHD are not necessarily caused by screens, because these are neurodevelopmental conditions with strong genetic links, there is significant research showing associations between high screen use and slower speech development, poorer attention and ADHD-like behaviours. Excessive screen time can have significant impacts on children’s emotional, communicative, and sensory development, some of which may mimic or exacerbate autism-like behaviours.
Autism and ADHD as clinical disorders predate exposure to screens. The reciprocal association is important here, too; that is, children born with neurodevelopmental differences are more susceptible to overuse of screens, particularly in ADHD. This is due to both cognitive vulnerability as well as differing needs and demands on the family unit.
Governments around the world have been playing catch-up to Big Tech, well behind in policy development in response to the known harms of digital media on children. The Australian Government’s law setting a Social Media Minimum Age is a good start, after many years of evidence-based advocacy and numerous documented harms. We have a critical window now to proactively prevent harm in the early years.
SSSC members report that babies and toddlers are starting to show up in childcare and preschools with noticeable language delays and less capacity to interact with others.
A 2024 report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found that three in four preschool-aged children were spending significantly more time using electronic devices than recommended.
The Thriving Kids initiative is an opportunity to check in on what we know about screen use and development in the best interests of infant mental health and children doing well.
Our recommendation:
The Thriving Kids initiative considers and reviews the health effects of screen time on infants and toddlers to prevent excessive screen time among children.
It would involve:
- □ Professionals engaged by the new program to work alongside families, being trained about the latest evidence regarding screen time and healthy brain development
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- □ Professionals engaged by the new program being trained to support families to develop, from the birth of a child, good digital habits, with the aim of -
- supporting adult-child attachment
- encouraging play and socialisation off-screen
- □ Health professionals screening for digital device use in their standard intake and assessments
- □ Screen-use harms awareness in maternity (prenatal and post-natal clinical) family health settings (with posters, brochures, etc.)
- □ Greater general public education support for young families that promotes parents and carers as the first teachers for healthy growth and emotional attachment, and the value of play.
We would be happy to provide further evidence and appear before the Committee on the development of this recommendation, including advice for professionals needing training.
Best wishes,
Toni Hassan Co-Convenor, (Australian) Start Smart Screen Coalition Development Wellness Educator and Author of Families in the Digital Age: Every Parent’s Guide Member, Global Alliance for Inspiring Non-tech Infant Nurturing and Growth
and
Dr Grace Hancock Clinical Psychologist Member, Health Professionals for Safer Screens Member, (Australian) Start Smart Screen Coalition Member, Global Alliance for Inspiring Non-tech Infant Nurturing and Growth Member, Australian Psychological Association & College of Clinical Psychologists Member, Healthy Autistic Life Lab (Deakin University research lab)
October 3, 2025
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Screen use and developmental delays: The evidence
Children who spend more than the recommended time in front of screens are more likely to show behaviours and elements similar to those found in children diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).
Studies show these children are more likely to suffer from “sensory-motor and socio-affective deprivation” (the latter occurring when individuals do not receive the necessary level of affectionate behaviours such as physical touch, verbal expressions of love, emotional support or acts of kindness that they need from others) caused by the overconsumption of a virtual environment.
A 2020 study with a significant sample size of 2000 children found that less screen exposure and more parent-child play at 12 months of age were associated with fewer ASD–like symptoms at 2 years of age, and more research on early experiential factors is recommended.
A 2024 study by researchers at the UC Davis Medical Centre MIND Institute found that toddlers showing developmental delays, who have autism in the family, tend to develop autism-like symptoms more often if they viewed screens as babies. According to the study, “Children with Autism and ADHD Concerns experienced significantly more screen exposure at 18 months than children without autism or elevated symptoms of ADHD.’ This highlights the particular importance of educating and supporting neurodivergent families.
A 2022 study of more than 84,000 Japanese babies and their mothers found that “among boys, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder” by 3 years of age.
This evidence matters because the first three years are vital for a baby’s brain, which is developing more rapidly than it ever will. For their brain to grow healthily, babies need to use all their senses to explore their world and develop relationships.
Higher levels of early life screen viewing are associated with not just autistic-like symptoms, but also:
- ● decreased quality of caregiver-to-infant attachment
- ● delays in the acquisition of language
- ● atypical sensory processing
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- ● poor executive functioning and problem-solving skills
- ● decreased sleep quantity and quality
- ● diminished motor skills
Distracted adults can also do damage, more than most parents realise.
A University of Wollongong study, analysing data from 21 research papers involving nearly 15,000 participants across 10 countries, published in May 2025, found that the children of parents who frequently use phones or tablets in their presence have weaker cognitive skills, more behavioural problems, more internalised emotional challenges, and spend more time on screens themselves.
Those parents speak less often, their children speak less often, and they have fewer conversations.
Studies show social interaction counteracts screen effects.
In early 2020, JAMA Pediatrics published an analysis finding that babies who viewed screens and videos at age one had a slightly greater chance of displaying autistic-like symptoms than non-screen-watching babies by the age of two. Conversely, “less screen exposure and more parent-child play at 12 months of age were associated with fewer ASD-like symptoms at 2 years of age.”
Research led by Australia’s Andrew Whitehouse at the Telethon Kids Institute found that babies with early signs of autism can avoid an autism diagnosis if parents learn communication skills through video feedback.
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