Shop by Topic
Shop by Product
ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues
<< Previous Issue
| View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> 
Young Children and Screen Time
May 16, 2012
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
-Carl Sandburg
-Carl Sandburg
"It is clear that today’s young children are being raised in a media-saturated environment, dramatically more so than in their parents’ generation. Although many parents and early childhood educators grew up after President Reagan de-regulated television in 1984, they need to be aware of the effects of that saturation for today’s young children, even though scientists are still learning about the full scope of those effects.
"It is also clear that young children’s intense involvement in screen media has adverse effects on their growth and health. We in early care and education have a responsibility, in the best interests of the child, to wean them from excessive dependence on screen media, especially while they are with us and in our care. We also need to be able and willing to work with parents to help them to make informed media choices for their families.
"All of the authorities cited in this article are agreed that children under two should be exposed to screen media as little as possible, and that child care is a place for their relationships and concrete explorations of the world around them, not for the children’s or caregivers’ screen media experiences. Passive screen media in child care should be very limited, based partly on the likelihood of the children’s excessive exposure at home and the danger that a sedentary media habit can lead to obesity, sleep problems, and other health difficulties. Although some authorities are more enchanted with interactive screen media than others, there is a widespread feeling that there should be limits on total daily media exposure, and much stronger limits on exposure while in child care, for children between 2 and 5 years of age.
"Violence, sex, and commercials on screen media available to young children should be discouraged, according to the health authorities. Others recommend that children need time away from media to develop more fully their own imagination and capacity to play.
"We in child care have a responsibility to reach out to parents and community leaders, to convince them to make their lives more child-friendly and less media-saturated. We all need to go outside and play."
Being with Babies: Understanding and Responding to the Infants in Your Care is a great resource for both beginning and experienced caregivers. Each chapter describes an issue that caregivers face daily, offers scenarios that illustrate the challenge, suggests solutions caregivers can use to address the issue, and concludes with a review of key points. Being with Babies teaches caregivers how to handle everyday challenges while learning about developmental stages. This hands-on resource is perfect for caregivers of children 6 weeks to 18 months old, as well as for staff development and resource libraries. Chapters include information on:
- Developing relationships with babies
- Using observation to understand babies
- Communicating with babies
- Selecting appropriate toys
- Setting up safe and effective learning environments for babies
ExchangeEveryDay
Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
What is ExchangeEveryDay?
ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
“EZ-CARE2 saves me over 10 hours of administrative time per week,” says Patricia Field of the Winston Prouty Center. Better manage your center with EZ-CARE2 Mgt. Software.
Comments (6)
Displaying All 6 CommentsUnited States
How is interactive screen media, such as an iPad or iPod Touch different than a book, especially when the experience is shared with an adult?
Current research actually supports the ability of children under 3 to learn from screen media during co-viewing (interactive viewing with a caregiver).
Books were once a new form of technology too.
MD AEYC
Bethesda, MD, United States
I, too, am gazing at a screen while the sun shines outside the window on a beautiful Spring afternoon, where I should be.
There's obviously a time in life for screens. The health community's point is that early childhood is not that time. There's no research showing that it's any harder to pick up screen skills later in childhood, or even as an adult. There may be a social exclusion element to not providing screen exposure to a young child, but that is easily counterbalanced by the other factors cited in the various reports cited. In particular, it's important for parents and other caregivers to be available to infants, and even preschoolers, who need adults' all-senses close personal and positive interactions to be able to build the parts of their brains involving emotional self-control, executive function, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.
Luv Bugs Forever
Nashua, United States
Totally agree with this article. I used to feel bad that I wasn't teaching young children how to use the computer but have since seen how much they get at home and on weekends of screen time and am very glad I never allowed that, 21 years in the family child care business :-)
OMEP-USA
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
I appreciate John Surr's contribution to EED on children's screen time. I would like to add a word about appropriate use of screen time with children. Since 2004, OMEP-USA and NAEYC have sponsored a Film Festival - Reel Children - at the NAEYC Annual Conference. We have worked to include guidelines for film literacy for early childhood educators and parents in that event. We will emphasize film literacy at the 2012 Film Festival in Atlanta. In the meantime, ECEs and parents are urged to Google "children's film literacy" and learn more.
Newton , NJ, United States
I don't disagree but find it ironic that I am reading this article on a screen. It is a screen that I spend a great deal of my day looking at. I navigate and complete my work throughout most of my day through the use of that screen.
BCAEYC
los angeles, California, United States
From one of the AEYC affiliates that opposed NAEYC's new Position Statement of Technology
To: Governing Board of NAEYC & interested members of NAEYC and its Affiliates
NAEYC is the nation's premier professional organization for early childhood educators. The Association's statement on Technology in Early Childhood Programs must reflect the best practices that are generally accepted and promoted by the majority of its members, the majority of its leadership, the majority of its college instructors and supported by experts.
The public health community’s recommendations of no screen time for children under two and limited screen time for older children is clear.
The highly regarded American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, clearly does not recommend screen time for children under 2 years of age. NAEYC, as the largest professional association of early education professionals and advocates has a responsibility to lead the way, not to offer disappointing apologies excusing the use of technology such as, "the genie is out of the bottle." Rightfully so, NAEYC's direction to the professional community has a profound effect on young children's media use both in and out of classrooms.
Unfortunately the current draft of a new position paper on the use of technology in early education programs undermines national efforts to address childhood obesity and other wellness problems. Its suggestion that "digital citizenship is essential in the 21st century" is arguable even for adults and is misguided at best when it is applied to children. For years, NAEYC has held a leadership position on this issue. Today, as the tide has finally turned and growing numbers of health and education experts decry America's obsession with technology, NAEYC proposes a regressive position on this critical matter, betraying the hard work of its members that have fought to stem the rush towards technology and its targeting of young children.
There is no evidence in the research that having screen technology in an early childhood setting provides any comparative advantage to young children. Highly regarded early education programs including Cal Tech's Childrens Center do not promote the use of technology in their classrooms. The current draft fails completely to suggest, encourage or advocate for alternatives to technology as appropriate options. It lacks the necessary and stern cautionary language that is called for on this particular issue. In this way, the current draft appears to promote and mandate the use of technology in the early education classroom.
We are concerned that your statement actively promotes children spending time with screens in preschools and will take time away from activities with proven benefits — like engaging in creative play or interacting with adults. We believe that the NAEYC draft is irresponsible and advocates for the use of screen technologies without addressing the commercialism that is so rampant in screen media for children. We truly feel that NAEYC has lost its vision and has abdicated its leadership position on this issue.
As a Board of ECE professionals and advocates, we do not feel supported in our role as mentors of Early Childhood Education students and beginning teachers by an organization that now appears to be pandering to the media and corporations. For these reasons, and after discussing our concerns in both regular BCAEYC Board Meetings and through regular Board e-mail communications, we have decided to take further action.
Therefore, a quorum of the Board of Beach Cities Association for the Education of Young Children, at our regularly scheduled Board meeting on June 14, 2011, has unanimously voted to oppose NAEYC's current draft position on the Use of Technology in Early Childhood Programs.
We will actively oppose any position paper that promotes the use of technology among children under two years of age.
Sincerely,
Stacey Smith, MA, president of BCAEYC
Michelle Moen, vice president of programs, BCAEYC
Linh Terry, treasurer, BCAEYC
Carol Minami, campus coordinator, BCAEYC
Catherine Scott, family child care chair, BCAEYC
Gregory Uba, public policy chair, BCAEYC
Post a Comment