Some of what happens during youth can’t be reversed. It’s another reason to rethink kids’ screen time – CTV
June 04, 2026
Need another reason not to give your kid screens? It may permanently alter their brains, according to a new paper that reviewed and reported on current literature.
A lot of what happens in childhood profoundly affects the skills and challenges people have later in life, according to the conceptual paper published Tuesday in the journal Brain Health.
The researchers found that our sensory experiences, movement and social relations growing up, along with our culture and environment, profoundly and sometimes irreversibly determine who we become.
The authors call this concept the “criticome,” which is the first time it has been given a name, said Dr. Julio Licinio, co-author of the review and a distinguished professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York’s Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York.
“The main takeaway is that there is a critical window of development that goes from birth all the way up to 25 years,” Licinio said. What is imprinted on the brain then will “determine who you are for the rest of your life.”
