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Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
Submitted October 2, 2025 Submitted to:
Mike.Freelander.MP@aph.gov.au
To Committee Chair Freelander:
It is with great respect for your efforts that I submit comments on behalf of Our Australian members, , are also expected to make submissions. Our group is called
formed in 2023 to raise awareness about recent, extensive scientific findings associating difficulties with the mental and physical development of infants, babies and toddlers with their early exposure to screen media. Our 40-nation group consists of clinicians, researchers, advocates and educators in the field of early life developmental health and wellness.
It is well known that babies need healthy relationships with their parents and other caregivers. There is also some awareness of advice to limit screen time in the early years. Despite this, most very young children exceed screen time recommendations, and parents may not understand the risks.
Children under 3 are in a critical stage of brain development. To grow and develop in a healthy way, they need personal back-and-forth interaction with parents and other caregivers, to be included in family routines, and to have safe spaces and time to play and explore using all of their senses.
But shows that excessive early life screen exposure can interfere with these critical needs and is associated with serious concerns including:
- Delayed language and social development
- Less secure attachment with carers
- Differences in brain function
- Disrupted sleep patterns
- Reduced physical activity
- Sensory challenges and autistic-appearing mannerisms The association between early life excessive screen exposure and autistic-like traits is not well known but has been much-researched. What’s exciting is that early findings show that the traits appearing in very young children can be greatly reduced when screen exposure is stopped and the child’s real-life play and face-to-face engagement with people is greatly increased.
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We hope you will consider this research as you develop evidence-based tools and guidance for parents, service providers and policymakers.
Our group provides strategies to help government agencies, healthcare providers, and parents better support the developmental health of infants, babies, and toddlers. The website has Awareness Alerts, including , along with helpful resources and our extensive reference list.
We believe this knowledge is critically important to the future of Australian children and those the world over.
We recommend the new program makes explicit to parents the impacts of screen time, with clear information to assist families manage screen use so young children are not harmed.
members and I would be more than happy to provide further evidence and to appear before the Committee on the development of that advice.
With appreciation,