Screen Time and Development: The reality during a pandemic
Photo by Ali Smith
With so many parents working from home and many of the usual kid activities canceled, we may be finding that the only way to get anything done is by allowing our children some extra screen time. Screen time can look different for everyone, such as watching television shows and movies, playing games on ipads, or the ever popular YouTube (anyone have kids that love to watch toys being opened?! . . . sigh). So many of us go back and forth with the guilt of knowing that it can’t possibly be good for our kids, to realizing that we just need to stay sane and get things done! Guess what my kids are doing while I write this post?!
How much screen time is recommended?
Before we dive into how to navigate screen time in the COVID-19 era, it’s important that we discuss the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) screen time recommendations. The thinking behind screen time limitations is that too much screen time means less interaction with people and environments. When there is less interaction, it is possible that there is less language and cognitive development, possibly resulting in developmental delays. Based on what is known about the impact of screen time on development, the AAP recommends that children under the age of 2 years avoid screen time altogether (other than video chatting). For ages 2-5 years, try to limit screen time to 1 hour a day of high-quality programming. For kids older than 6, we should be consistently limiting screen time, so it does not impact sleep and exercise habits.
We know that screen time isn’t ideal for development, but can we talk REAL LIFE?
If you are like us, your parent guilt kicks in when you realize that your child is on a device or in front of a TV more than you’d like to admit. At the same time, with the kids home ALL DAY LONG, what can you do? Keeping the kids engaged all day in activities is amazing, but not always realistic day in and day out. Additionally, when you have children of different ages, the older kids may get more time with TV/devices, making it challenging to keep the younger siblings away. There are still ways to manage the increased use of screen time during the COVID era, without all the guilt. We have highlighted some of our strategies below!
Strategies for making screen time work for you and your family
If you are going to allow your child to have screen time, make it count for you AND your family! Since we are in an unprecedented time of being home more than usual, plan screen time around when you need to be most productive. This means, try not to fall into the habit of using screen time as a boredom fix, but rather a down time for the kids and a get-things-done time for you!
For the little ones, try to make the games and content as age-appropriate as possible! We love PBS kids, Epic! books, and educational apps that promote concept learning and vocabulary growth (stay tuned, we will be talking all our favorite apps soon!).
If you are going to use screen time as a boredom fix (hello, long winter days and rainy season), try to interact with your kids during these times. Talk about what is happening during the shows and movies and carry some of the concepts into your day! If playing an educational app, work together with your child to problem solve and talk about what is happening!
The AAP has put together a family media plan to help you plan screen time use for you and your family!
RESOURCES:
Why to Avoid TV for Infants & Toddlers
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto
