Screen Time and your Children

There has been a lot of debate in the past few years about the availability that kids have to screen time. Screen time is the time that your child is able to sit in front of some sort of screen including televisions, iPads and computers. The argument about the screen dilemma has grown due to the nature of our society today. There are computer and television screens everywhere and with smart phones there is always an attention grabbing screen in front of you and your child. While many individuals see no problem letting their children in front of a screen it is important that you consider early childhood development as you let them watch television.

Zero to Three, one of the leading sources for parent information on the web today recently published an article discussing the issue that many are facing with allotting their children screen time. While the American Association of Pediatrics recommends no television for children under the age of 2, as the children get older it will become harder for you to completely shield your child from the television or the computer screen as a majority of our news and livelihood come from working on a screen.

When your child reaches two, it is recommended that you attempt to limit their television watching to about 1-2 hours a day, however the parenting of the television doesn’t end there. While it may seem very hands off to allow a few hours of television for your children you need to consider what your child is watching. Watching the television or the computer have a limited role in their learning and development. Young children learn best from an interactive and hands on experience. Children want to be able to touch and feel, stack and problem solve with the people around them. This will help them develop motor skills and bonds with their parents and others.

However, should you allow your child to watch an hour or two of television or computer time, consider what they are watching. Some shows do tend to have positive effects on children such as Arthur, Clifford and Blue’s Clues while other shows have no effect on a child’s brain. There is no stimulation with many shows or computer activities. Especially with television shows try to choose shows that do the following:

  • Television characters speak directly to the children
  • Ask children to participate in the show in some way
  • Strong storyline and book structure

Dad don't allow son using his laptop

Adding to the interaction between the television characters and your child, it also helps if you take part in the activities that your child is doing and what they are watching. Create a learning experience from watching the television so that it is allowing them to develop cognitively. Some things that you can do with your child after, or while they are watching the show includes:

  • Talk about the show (2-3)
    • Let them tell you what they took away from the show in their own words. This will allow them to work on processing what they see into words.
  • Be active
    • When your child should be dancing, join them. It will become a bonding experience with your child.
  • Connect to real life experience
    • Think about connecting Mail Time with Blue’s Clues to your mail time.
    • Consider other activities that are going on in the shows and relate them to daily activities you do with your child.
  • Turn off the television when the show is over
    • Try to have your child create a story of their own.
    • Recreate the narrative that they were just told.
  • Do not use television to put children to sleep
    • This will make it difficult for your child to sleep on their own.

Early Childhood development is an uphill struggle sometimes with finding out what balances in your everyday life can impact your child. While you do what you can, it is not a perfect science either. Consider an early childhood education center during the day for your child to build skills such as fine motor skills, social skills and routine. Though it is not the easiest to let your child go if you were used to being home with them, it will help you limit their screen time while allowing them to socialize with children their age for an alternative.