With a growing trend towards technology use at younger ages, parents have to contend with the distractions, health issues and possible developmental delays that experts link screen time to. Navigating the tech-time environment isn’t easy for most parents. While some experts praise “educational” apps, programs and websites as interactive methods for young learners to build skills that range from counting to coding, other professionals in the healthcare and child development fields caution parents to restrict all screen time in favor of socially interactive pursuits.
Where does technology use meet misuse and how can parents effectively help their children to navigate a world that is filled with screens? Understanding the basics of screen time and how it impacts developmental areas, such as expressive language use, is a step in the right direction.
If you’re not sure what to do about screen time, read on to find out the time-limit recommendations by age, the actual effects of technology use/overuse and how you can manage your child’s plugged-in life.
Screen Time By Age
How much screen time is too much for your child? The true answer to this question varies, depending on your beliefs and values surrounding technology use. Some parents want nothing to do with screens. They may ban television from their home, insist that their very young children stay completely away from computers and nix the notion of getting a cell phone until their children are old enough to buy one for themselves.
Other parents may embrace technology, looking at it as a modern-day learning tool that can help their children connect to their “in real life” friends/family and build new or developing skills. That said, setting limits can help to minimize possible ill-effects and help children to develop their whole selves.
Whether you’re a no screen time, reduced screen time or all screen time parent, child development experts and medical professionals have their own guidelines for appropriate technology use. Keep in mind, these are not set in stone. The recommendations have changed over time, and may change again.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under 18-months have no screen time at all, except for video-chatting. Toddlers 18- to 24-months should have very limited exposure to screens, with no more than 1 hour per day. This should only include video-chatting or high-quality educational programming. Preschoolers, ages 2- through 5-years, should also engage in no more than 1 hour of screen time daily. Again, this should include high-quality, educational material that the parent co-watches and pre-screens.
Older children, ages 6 and up, should have limits placed on their media viewing, according to the AAP. Like the guidelines recommend for younger children, older kids should also engage in high-quality, educational screen time activities. Screen time and tech use should never take precedence over physical activity, sleep or other any person-to-person social interaction.
Effects of Screen Time
In limited amounts, interactive and educational screen time isn’t likely to harm your child. But a child who engages in screen time activities for several hours out of the day, avoids real-life interactions or foregoes physical activity in favor of sitting in front of a computer, tablet or smart phone may exhibit behavioral, health-related or developmental problems.
What kinds of problems can a child who overdoes it on tech-time suffer from? There is no easy answer to this question. Passive screen time, or watching and not interacting with the technology, can result in speech and language delays in toddlers or young children, social isolation, depression, anxiety, aggression and decreased attention span. It can also contribute to being overweight or childhood obesity.
When it comes to language delays, a recent study from the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada found that children ages 6-months through 2-years who had more handheld screen time were also more likely to have delays in the use of expressive language. The study revealed that there was a 49% increased risk of expressive language delay for every 30-minute increase in screen time, with handheld devices.
Some children may also suffer scholastically from technology overuse. This doesn’t mean that every screen, app or online activity will take away from your child’s academic skill-building. Again, the AAP recommends high-quality educational screen time. This type of technology use can help children to gain new skills, learn age-appropriate content and reinforce what they’re studying in school. But activities that are pure entertainment, such as video games, can take away from academic endeavors. Non-educational screen time should never take the place of studying, reading or school itself.
Helping Your Child Unplug
Technology isn’t in itself ‘bad’. When used appropriately, it can help your child to develop academic, social, emotional and even creative skills. With that in mind, it’s your job as the parent to manage your child’s screen time use and help them to navigate the often-murky waters of the online world.
What can you do to help your child when it comes to screen time? Parents of older infants and toddlers can limit screen time to interactive social activities, such as video-chatting with grandma. As the child moves into the older toddler-preschooler years, parents can introduce educational games and activities that require the child to actively participant in the learning process. This may mean that the child creates digital artwork, verbally answers questions that a cartoon character asks or points and clicks on letters, number, shapes or answers.
For older kids, start by avoiding technology at bedtime. Stop all screens a minimum of 30 minutes before it's time to go to sleep. If you have an older child, tween or teen, keep smartphones and other devices out of the room at night-time. You can also move computers, laptops and others screens into communal spaces — where you can watch your child.
Bedtime isn't the only time when you need to help your child unplug. Turn off the TV and other extra types of technology while your child is doing homework. Keep in mind, it's likely that your child will need to use the computer for their school work. If you've moved the family computer into a shared space, such as the living room, have your child try noise-cancelling headphones to concentrate on the "good" screen.
If unplugging is challenging for your child, create a contract. Clearly outline acceptable technology use, your screen-time rules and time-limits. Work with your child to create a contact that's reasonable, appropriate and something they can actually follow.
Always monitor their children’s tech-time activity. Whether your child is a toddler or a teenager, you need to know what they’re doing online. Talk to your child, asking them questions about their screen time use. Not only will this help you to monitor what your child is doing on their screen, but it also encourages social communication.
Comments