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There is growing concern about the relationship between screen use by young children and negative effects on their development, as children with developmental and socioemotional impairments tend to have difficulties in their relationships and increased academic problems. The aim of our study was to analyse the relationship between the use of multimedia devices and paediatric symptoms in children below 5 years old. Data from 534 Portuguese parents of children aged from 18 to 57 months were collected via a self-report questionnaire. Children’s daily exposure to multimedia devices was nearly 2 h per day. Paediatric symptoms were positively associated with watching television and screen time and negatively associated with parents’ working hours. Touchscreen use was more frequent among girls and older children. Parents’ working hours comprised the most significant predictor of paediatric symptoms. Our findings reinforce past findings on the adverse links between the use of multimedia devices and paediatric symptoms and also highlight the influence of other variables like the child’s age and gender, as well as parental factors. The need to both create a more comprehensive framework regarding the long-term effects of multimedia device use and delineate effective strategies for prevention and intervention with parents and children is discussed.

The assessment of behaviorally inhibited children is typically based on parent or teacher reports, but this approach has received criticisms, mainly for being prone to bias. Several researchers proposed the additional use of observational methods because they provide a direct and more objective description of the child's functioning in different contexts. The lack of a laboratory assessment of temperament for Portuguese children justifies the adaptation of some episodes of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) as an observational measure for behavioral inhibition. Method: In our study, we included 124 children aged between 3 and 9 years and their parents. The evaluation of child behavioral inhibition was made by parent report (Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire) and through Lab-TAB episodes. Parental variables with potential influence on parents’ reports were also collected using the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) and the Parental Overprotection Measure (POM). Results and Discussion: The psychometric analyses provided evidence that Lab-TAB is a reliable instrument and can be incorporated in a multi-method approach to assess behavioral inhibition in studies involving Portuguese-speaking children. Moderate convergence between observational and parent report measures of behavioral inhibition was obtained. Mothers’ characteristics, as well as child age, seem to significantly affect differences between measures, being potential sources of bias in the assessment of child temperament.