Susan Ramsay | Sep 12, 2012


 

What is a parent to do? We have heard the news. Both the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics have looked at the research linking television and screen time with healthy child development. Their recommendations? Children who are two years old or younger should watch no television or other digital screens. Daily screen time for preschoolers should be no more than one to two hours. (www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/limiting_screen_time_at_home; Media and Children from American Academy of Pediatrics, www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx )For many parents and caregivers these statements have been challenging to accept. Especially in this digitally explosive age of tablets, iPods, digital cameras, smart phones, computers, Skype and YouTube, is it possible to shelter our young children from screens? Screens now include more than televisions, videos or DVDs.Recognizing that screen technology is ubiquitous, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Centre, after three years of study, published a position paper to guide early learning and childcare educators’ use of technology in classrooms and programs. Their paper offers insight for parents, grandparents and caregivers too.Children learn through real-life exploration, creative play, physical activity, conversation and social interaction. “Access to technology tools and interactive media should not exclude, diminish, or interfere with children’s healthy communication, social interactions, play and other developmentally appropriate activities with peers, family member and teachers.” (NAEYC and Fred Rogers: Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Firth through Age 8, www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/PS_technology_WEB.pdf )What does this mean? It means that the selection of any developmentally appropriate technology for preschoolers must be paired with a focus on how that technology is used. Parents, for example, can enhance their child’s learning by exploring a bird call website with their child to help identify the bird they just heard. Parents might also play with their child using a tablet art program to discover what colour can be made by mixing red and yellow on their screen. This type of screen time can support children’s thinking, language and fine motor skills, especially when reinforced and compared with mixing colours using play dough, paint or coloured water. Conversely, parents or caregivers who frequently encourage their child to keep busy by sitting quietly in front of the television, or by playing their computer or video games alone, are creating stumbling blocks to their child’s healthy social, emotional, cognitive and physical development.Though early childhood educators are discouraged from using any technology with infants and toddlers in their programs, the authors of the position paper recognized that there may be a few developmentally appropriate uses of technology for infants and toddlers at home. Parents and toddlers may use Skype to communicate with family. They may view digital photos and talk about the pictures together, or share e-books. But even these screen experiences, they advise, need to be used judiciously, echoing our physicians’ warnings.As parents and caregivers we can ask ourselves:Does the technology and electronic media my child uses build his or her social relationships and nurture conversation?Does it require my child to interact and engage rather than become passive or act in repetitive mindless ways?Does exposure to technology match my child’s developmental needs?Parents and educators are encouraged to think not only about if and what technology is shared with children, but also how we offer technology to young children. In the words of the NAECY and Fred Rogers Centre position paper, “Passive use of technology and any type of screen media is an inappropriate replacement for active play, engagement with other children, and interactions with adults.” (www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_WEB2.pdf )


Susan Ramsay is the Early Literacy Specialist for Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. You can contact her at 613-354-6318 (ext 32)

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