Do dummies and screens cause speech delay?

Is it my fault if my child is slow to talk?

Almost certainly not, and that holds if your child had a dummy or watched a lot of television. Children are slow to talk for many reasons, and often nobody can point to one. A large Australian study followed 1,766 children and found that late language at 24 months was not linked to parents' education, family income, parental mental health, parenting practices or family functioning. It was linked to a family history of late talking, being a boy and early neurobiological growth.¹

That study didn't measure dummies or screens in particular, so it can't settle the question below. What it does show is that late talking is mostly not explained by what parents do or don't do, and I'd ask you to hold on to that while you read the rest. If you're worried about your child's talking, my guide on late talkers goes through what's typical.

What does the research say about dummies?

The research is thin, and what exists is mixed. A UK study of 100 children aged 24 to 61 months compared their speech with how long and how often they'd used a dummy. Most speech measures were not significantly linked to dummy use. The exception was that children who'd had a dummy more often in the daytime made more atypical speech errors, and that link wasn't there in children older than 38 months.² The authors point out that the evidence base for any effect of dummy use on speech is very small, and that those errors may resolve over time.²

The study can't say the dummy caused the errors. It looked at a group of children at one point in time and the numbers tell us the two things went together, not why.

The RCSLT, the professional body for speech and language therapists, says using a dummy to get a child off to sleep and to calm them does not affect speech development. It adds that using one a lot during the day can interfere with speech sound development.³ The NHS advises offering a dummy only at sleep times and aiming to stop using one completely by 12 months.⁴

What's worth changing with a dummy?

The NHS advice is to offer a dummy only at sleep times, and the RCSLT adds that when a child is talking, the dummy should come out of their mouth.⁴³ Both are small changes.

If your child is past 12 months and still uses a dummy at bedtime, please don't take that as a failure. The RCSLT's concern is long stretches of daytime use, and in the UK study above it was daytime use, not night-time use, that went with the errors.³² If you'd like to cut down and it's proving hard, your health visitor can help.

What does the research say about screens?

More screen time is linked with weaker language skills, but the link is small and it doesn't show cause. A meta-analysis pooled 42 studies with 18,905 children aged 12 or under. More hours of screen time went with lower language skills (r = -0.14), and so did background television (r = -0.19). Educational programmes (r = 0.13), watching together with a grown-up (r = 0.16) and starting screens later (r = 0.17) went with stronger language skills.⁵

Those figures are correlations, which means the two things move together without telling us which causes which. It could be that screens take time away from talking. It could also be that something else, such as a busy household or a child who finds conversation harder, leads to more screen time. The review's own conclusion was that the findings support existing advice to limit how long children use screens, to choose good programmes and to watch together when possible.⁵

The NHS also says background noise, such as a television left on, makes it harder for a child to listen to you.⁴

What do the NHS and WHO advise on screens?

The Best Start in Life guidance for under-fives, which the NHS links parents to, says to avoid screen time under 2 other than shared activities such as chatting to family over video, and to keep it to an hour a day or less for 2 to 5 year olds.⁶ It also suggests keeping bedrooms and mealtimes screen-free, and not having screens on in the background.⁶

The World Health Organization's 2019 guidelines for under-fives are similar. Screen time isn't recommended for babies or one year olds, and for children from two to four they say no more than an hour a day, and less is better.⁷ They also say that reading, storytelling and singing with a grown-up are very important for development.⁷

These are guidelines for the whole population and they're cautious on purpose. Going over an hour on a hard day doesn't mean your child will have a speech delay.

What's worth changing, and what isn't?

The guidance suggests a few small changes: switch off background television when you're playing or talking, watch together and chat about what you see, keep screens out of mealtimes and bedtimes, and take the dummy out when your child wants to talk.⁴⁶³

What I wouldn't spend guilt on is the odd programme while you cook tea, a chat with a grandparent over video, or a dummy that's still used at night. My view is that none of those is what's holding a child's talking back, and that the conversation, songs and books you already share matter more. That's my opinion, and the research above can't prove it either way.

When should I ask for help?

Whenever you're worried, and you don't need to cut out the dummy or the screens first to find out whether they were the reason. Your health visitor, your GP or the SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) at your child's nursery are all free places to start. If you're worried about your child's hearing, mention it to your GP or health visitor, and take up any hearing tests you're offered.³ If your child has stopped using words they had before, ask your GP for an appointment promptly.

What happens if I get in touch?

If you'd like a second pair of ears, the free 15-minute call is a no-obligation place to begin. Should an assessment be worth doing, it's mostly play and costs £270. No GP referral is needed, and seeing me doesn't take your child off an NHS waiting list. The language and communication page explains how I work, and the fees page has the rest.