Smartwatch Cuts Tantrums in Children With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

THURSDAY, Dec. 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) – A smartwatch system helps parents shorten and defuse children”s severe tantrums, according to a study published online Dec. 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Magdalena Romanowicz, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues evaluated the feasibility and adherence of a digitally augmented, real-time, proactive behavioral intervention (smartwatch) for children with disruptive behaviors. Analysis included 50 children (age 3 to 7 years) with clinically significant externalizing behavior problems assigned to either 12 weekly sessions of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT; treatment as usual) or artificial intelligence (AI)–enhanced PCIT augmented with real-time behavioral outburst alerts.

The researchers found that children wore the watch a median 75.7 percent of the time, achieving the feasibility benchmark. In the PCIT-AI arm, the median response time to behavior prompts was 3.65 seconds. There was no statistically significantly greater numerical improvement in Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI)-intensity percentage change, ECBI-problem percentage change subscale scores, or absolute change in Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire scores. However, children in the PCIT-AI arm had significantly shorter mean tantrum durations (10.4 versus 22.1 minutes) and lower odds of tantrums lasting 15 minutes or more (odds ratio, 3.66).

“This study shows that even small, well-timed interventions can change the trajectory of a child”s emotional dysregulation episode,” Romanowicz said in a statement. “These moments give parents a chance to step in with supportive actions — moving closer, offering reassurance, labeling emotions, and redirecting attention before a tantrum intensifies.”

Several authors reported financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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