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YResearch suggests that children who spend more than two hours a day watching a smartphone or other screen are seven times more likely to develop attention disorders.
The study of 3,500 children revealed that high levels of time spent in front of a screen were associated with a much greater risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at home. Age of five.
Parents were asked to indicate the total time spent by three-year-olds watching television screens, games and mobile devices.
They then filled out a checklist of behavior and their behavior at school at age five.
The University of Alberta study found that the three-year-old spent 90 minutes a day watching screens.
The study published in the journal PLOS ONE revealed that one in seven patients who watched more than two hours increased the risk of meeting the ADHD criteria by 7.7.
The study found that children who spent more time doing organized sport were less likely to have behavioral problems.
Professor Piush Mandhane, head of the study, pediatrician, said: "We found that the time spent in front of a screen had a significant impact at the age of five."
The medical officer for England recently urged parents not to let children spend more than two hours at a time watching screens.
Lady Sally Davies also said that smartphones should be banned from the time of meals and left outside the rooms at night.
Professor Mandhane said the new findings suggested that the time spent in front of a screen should be much more limited for preschool children. "Our data suggest that between zero and 30 minutes a day is the optimal duration of the screen."
"The preschool period is a great time for education about healthy relationships with screens, and we believe our data shows that it's impossible to start too early."
The research identified factors that provide protection against the negative effects of time spent in front of a screen.
Good quality sleep had a limited impact, while participation in organized sports had a very significant protective effect.
Professor Mandhane said, "What's interesting is that it was not a protective physical activity on its own, it was an activity that needed to be structured.
"And the more children spent time in organized sports, the less likely they were to have behavioral problems."
His fellow author Sukhpreet Tamana said, "Many things you do as part of organized activities are very important to young children from the start. This opens the way for children's development.
"I think that instead of spending time in front of the screen, it would be beneficial for parents to increase the opportunities for structured activities."
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