Screen Time: How much is too much?

[Mothering]

Do young children need mandatory screen time?

That's the provocative question the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood is putting to parents this week, explaining to them the push coming from NAEYC to require screen time for preschoolers:

 

 

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has issued a draft of its new position statement on Technology in Early Childhood Programs.  Because NAEYC is the nation's premier professional organization for early childhood educators, the statement will have a profound effect on young children's media use both in and out of classrooms.  

NAEYC clearly put a lot of effort into crafting this statement, but the draft’s recommendations are troubling.  As it stands, the statement:

• Undermines major public health efforts to reduce screen time in order to help curb childhood obesity and other child wellness problems.  It does not support the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation of no screen time for children under two and limited screen time for older children.  In fact, reducing the amount of time children spend with screens isn’t even a stated priority.  
• Prescribes that screen technologies should be included in all early childhood settings, regardless of the age of the children served or type of program.  Even play-based and outdoor preschools will be expected to incorporate screens. 
• Provides no objective criteria or guidance to educators about whether or when to incorporate screens into their classrooms. 
• Does not address the growing problem of screen-based commercialism in preschools.

You can read the call to action here: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1315296/act-against-mandatory-screen-time-for-preschoolers.

However, this also raises others question of screen time. That preschoolers are "already spending an average of 32 hours per week with screens outside of classrooms" is a telling trend. While the Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents limit screen time for preschoolers to two hours per day, most are already getting about double that amount. A study last year by Seattle Children's Research Institute found the following:

• On average, preschoolers were exposed to four hours of screen time each weekday, with 3.6 hours of exposure occurring at home. Those in home-based child care had a combined average of 5.6 hours of screen time at home and while at child care, with 87% exceeding the recommended two-hour limit, the investigators found.
• Children who went to child care centers had an average of 3.2 hours each weekday at home and while at child care. The average for children who didn't go to child care was 4.4 hours per day.
• Children in Head Start, a program for economically disadvantaged kids, had an average of 4.2 hours of screen time per weekday. But 98% of those 4.2 hours occurred at home, the study authors pointed out.
  
   

Do you have restrictions or rules about screen time for your children? How do you handle permitting (or not) the "screens" in your child's life? We'd love to hear from you and everyone in the Mothering community here at MDC and beyond. We'll be featuring this discussion on our homepage, on Facebook and via Twitter. 

[blopez5293]

I don't feel preschools should be mandated to use screen time in the classroom.  I don't allow my children to watch screen during daylight hours at all.  So that means they watch way less screen than most children these days.  We listen to audiobooks and play family games together.  And I force my kids to wait until the weekend to play video games at all.  and then it's 1 hour in the evening only.  I think it's for parents to control what their children do and to do what our parents did to us when we were kids... Kick them outside to go PLAY!!!!  I can't ever remember a day when I was growing up where the weather was good that my parents didn't unplug the TV if they had to and kick us outside.  Parents need to quit making excuses and start caring for their children again.  It's time to take action at home and screen time at preschool doesn't make it any easier to do.

[NatureMom2Two]

In our home? Any amount of time is too much. We do not have TV, and our kids have maybe watched an hour or two in the whole of their collective lives. (They are five and three, respectively.) We also ban computer use. We are a Montessori home and, in that regard, our children will not have access to technology until the second grade. Because our children attend Montessori schools, we need not worry about exposure to screens in the classroom environment, either. I would never send my child to a daycare, preschool or public school wherein screens were widely used.

We do, maybe three of four times a year, take our children to movies. They think it is a total treat!

[SweetSilver]

I completely agree that kids need no screen time in any format.  We, however, are not TV-free.  We watch library videos and movies.  The girls get one video (about 1- 1 1/2 hours) only in the morning while DH and I are getting ready (we homeschool, no need for the kids to get ready).  We see a lot of nature videos, esp. sharks and dinosaurs and lions.  But we see our fair share of movies, too.

     I don't defend this.  It just works, and the AM video rule completely removes TV at any other time, so never an argument.  The girls are not on a computer, ever, except to see family pictures I show them on Facebook.

     I am absolutely against any possibility of mandatory screen time in any form.  It's stuff like this that makes us happy we homeschool and can avoid those issues.

[kamikazismom]

Wow!  I just a lot of respect for NAEYC.  The only show I let my son watch is Sesame Street, and even that is rare.  He will be starting preschool in the fall, and one of the criteria I had when searching for a school is that they DO NOT have the children watch TV. 

[AllisonR]

The very beginning of the report says In this position statement, the word “technology” is used broadly, referring to interactive digital and electronic devices, software, multi-touch tablets, technology-based toys, apps, video games and interactive (nonlinear) screen- based media."  It then says it is not talking about TV, but technology. 

Not implying I agree with the report. Just pointing out this is not about TV time at all.  

[NatureMom2Two]

I think that is a good observation, Allison. We also ban electronic toys from our home, and I know that they are not used in the shcools my children attend, obviously. My children do not have cell phones or other hand-held technological devices. I am sure, all that being said, that they get some passive exposure. How could you live in the US and not? But it is so passive, and so incidental, I think it has little noteable impact on their development.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I think it has a lot more to do with kids who live in homes that do not have computers vs kids who live in houses with computers.  If there is not computer in the house then daycare, preschool and other early ed programs are going to be the way that children are exposed to computers and other technology.  HeadStart and many other preschool programs are based around the idea of giving kids experiences that they might not otherwise have.  HeadStart (in principle although not always in practice bc they differ from one to the other) are suppose to be very field trip and "guest speaker" heavy because the idea is that is a way for kids to have experiences they might not get.

One of the biggest indicators of success in K is how many and varied experiences children have had prior to K. This recommendation is not about sitting passively in front of the TV at preschool.  Its more about integrating technology into the early ed curriculum so that all students have access, not just those who have access at home.

For instance, my lo knows he can ask me to "look it up on the computer" if we don't the hours of a place, or want some kind of specific information (like how big are adult pangolin) and we can go and do that, but if you don't have a computer at home that is not part of your experience.

That being said, ds uses the computer *maybe* once a week, and uses my iphone 1 or 2x a week to play a game or watch a bit of little bear (usually Saturday or Sunday morning sleep in's) He's not plugged in all day long, but he's had a variety of experiences with technology and its varied uses.

[One_Girl]

We a few movies on the weekend and I let my dd play the computer almost any time she asks.  I don't think unlimited access to tv is good, but she went to a play-based preschool that had a computer station kids could use for 15 minutes a day and I thought that was good that she was able to learn there because they start using computers daily in Kindergarten in our public school system.  I see nothing wrong with screen time in moderation.  I enjoy using a computer and watching movies sometimes and so does my dd.  We also enjoy a wide variety of other activities.

[NZJMama]

I don't think I would pay for my kids to go to a preschool where they watch TV or play computer games. My kids watch about 2 hours a week and that is typically a movie or PBS cartoons.

[Kathy White]

We are a steiner education based family, and I have to admit at the beginning,  I really didn't get the guidelines the school gave us for no (or very limited) screen time.  Screen time being any screen, computers, video games, TV, DVD movies. etc.

And they have had some exposure.  However, what I notice is that both my children (4 and 8) are so full or their own imagination, their own imaginative play is the world they best enjoy and they really don't seem to resonate with the TV. I have really seen how screen time limits children's natural play.  These days they don't even ask to watch TV - I think the last thing they watched was three or four weeks ago.  

I love Larry Cohen's book "Playful Parenting" and I'm delighted that he said yes to join me online for a teleseminar series starting June 8th.   http://www.coachthework.co.uk/home/playful-parenting-teleseminar  he really opens up the world of play and why and how children learn through play.  By sticking them in front of a TV I believe we are taking away their natural function of how they integrate and digest the world.  They absorb so much information  on a daily basis and then play it out, play that information through them in order to understand and digest it, they make sense of the world by playing.

I believe a child doesn't really get a chance to play their world out and make sense of it if they are simply being filled with more and more images from a screen in front of them.  And in terms of learning about computers etc.  I think about the time I spend on the computer and think, well, they probably will too as an adult. It didn't take too much time for me to learn all the computing stuff I needed to.  Hey, they have the rest of their lives to be on a computer,  while the natural inclination is to play I want to facilitate that environment of play for them.

[waiting2bemommy]

Well, and that is just another exmple of why parents should not trust an "expert" to tell them  that something is good or bad for thier children. NAEYC thinks all preschools should have screen time? Many parents trust that a school approved by NAEYC is a good preschool. How about spending the money that it would take to buy computers (I'm giving the benefit of the doubt here that they are not just talking about TV) and put that into creating an awesome outdoor playscape? It would never happen. So, now NAEYC certified schools, which are supposed to be good, are going to be plopping 2 and 3 yr olds in front of a screen and finding a way to make it sound positive.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves with daycares......turning on baby einstein or baby signing time or your baby can read, and marketing it to the parents as "educational." Well, sure, it's better than Spongebob, but that doesn't make it great. I'm glad I saw this, since I am considering Head Start for ds next year .I will definitely be asking them about this new recommendation and see what their stance is. I'm not anti-TV or anti-computer, and we even have an old sega console that ds likes to play with, but those are not apporpriate activities for a self-proclaimed learning environment, and certainly not on the parent's dime.

[mamazee]

I wil admit that for me the TV is a babysitter. My little one watches less than a half hour a day, but she does watch a bit at least almost every day while I do something or another I don't want her underfoot for. But I recognize it's a babysitter and don't pretend it's educational or something. It's a means to an end for me.

The older one is thankfully not interested in TV. I did the same with her - just used it as an occasional way to grab her attention when I was doing something where I couldn't have her underfoot, and she ended up having no particular interest in it. She does sometimes watch it during bad weather but even that is rare. I think this is just her personality - I don't think her lack of interest in TV was caused by me. She's just more of a doer than a watcher, by nature.

IMO, no screen time is beneficial, and however much there is goes somewhere between neutral and negative, depending on how much screen time and how much is being watched.

[MJB]

We are living in the information age. I'd guess all of us use computers daily. Our kids are going to have to be adept at using current and future technologies if we want them to succeed. Does that mean preschoolers should watch TV for 4 hours a day? Of course not. 

When my oldest son (now 8.5) was little, I was strict about no screen time. He didn't watch TV until he was 2.5, and then only once a month or so. He currently watches TV maybe twice a week and rarely uses our home computer. 

My middle son was allowed to use the computer starting at 2. He used starfall.com and then, time4learning.com. These websites singlehandedly taught him to read at age 3. He's going into 1st grade now and is extremely computer literate. He uses the computer to play chess, to search for information, to send emails, to chat with family, etc. Yesterday was a screen-heavy day, because he watched the National Spelling Bee on TV and also watched a bunch of Schoolhouse Rock videos about the parts of speech on youtube. When my 5 yr. old is telling me all about adverbs as we drive to pick his brother up, I am thankful that I became less rigid about the screen time issue. 

I am stricter than almost everyone we know about TV and video games but computers aren't even in the same category to me. Also, I think as long as kids have opportunities to play outside be on sports teams, play board games, read books, and so on they won't choose to spend an excessive amount of time in front of a screen.

[Cavy]

I limit screen time, too.  Maybe I don't know enough about the "commericialization" aspect that worries OP, although I do know that it's not nice to be the only kid (seemingly) at school who hasn't a clue about some commercial thing, like what Halloween or McDonalds are. That said, I'd chuck the TV today if DH didn't mind, I'd not miss it.

Still, I think a guideline of "no screen time at all" for X age is impractical when you are in a family setting (multi-age children), or simply adults who want to keep in touch with most the rest of your surrounding culture -- or a bunch of computer geeks like us. Plus, basic computer skills are helpful by the time they start school, and often encourage otherwise reluctant children to learn. 

Quality of the screen time is the key: I loathe commercial TV and children's BBC (advert free) isn't a whole lot better on Saturday mornings.  So most of DC screen time is games & DVD movies.  I can't see how that is more isolating or encouraging obesity than the hours (and hours and hours) I spent with nose in book as a child.  Electronic games are better, possibly, all that puzzle solving.

DD can spend hours sitting about writing stories and drawing horses.

I was a bookworm and spent hours drawing horses, doing jigsaws, playing with shells and doing crossword-type puzzles.

My mother spent hours on her sewing, singing, piano.

My grandmother spent hours tatting (lace making), playing piano, learning to crochet.

My other grandmother spent hours practising her singing.

My great-grandfather spent hours sitting about playing the fiddle.

All very sedentary stuff done mostly for our own entertainment.  We just have electronic versions of it, now.

[Disco Infiltrator]

we don't limit screen time in our home.  DS watches whatever television he wants.  I've noticed that he will watch more TV when he is tired and less when he's not.  It's not the first thing he wants and he will chose play most of the time over television.  I feel by not forcing my limits onto him I am keeping TV from being alluring and seductive.  It's just another tool in our house, another thing, another toy. He doesn't over-indulge because we don't deny.  He's also not going to school, so watching TV takes very little away from family time and he's active because he's not spending hours sitting in a classroom.  

I do limit what he watches.  We watch Curious George, Gofrette, Artzooka and Mr. Rogers.  We will also watch Nature on PBS and DVDs from the library.  I avoid almost anything with commercials and even find PBS to have too much advertising.  I love the CBC because they have zero commercials and decent kids programming.  

He uses the computer as well.  I need to check out starfall and see if he likes it.  His current habit is watching youtube videos about robots, which is fine but the shortness of each one, the loud music on many of them and the potential for him to yell "MOMMY" because he's somehow made the screen go away, makes me more hesitant and drives me bonkers.  If I could get him refocused on something else I'd be more lenient on computer use as well.  

I agree that the guidelines are about exposing kids to technology.  All of our kids are going to live in a technology and entertainment heavy world, and being tech-savvy is going to be to their advantage.  I would rather prepare my kid to function in that world in a healthy manner.  All denying does is make kids curious and tend to overindulge later.  That's what I think!

[swampangel]

i love this idea of screen time not in daylight hours...especially with summer upon us.  do you find that if they do video/screen stuff in the evening it interferes with their bedtime routine/sleep?

[Anandamama]

Ugh, surely this doesn't mean that even private schools will be somehow forced to have computers in their class?!  I can't imagine my daughter's Montessori school ever doing that.  It makes a little more sense if they're talking about picking up some basic computer skills, but not just cartoons, right?  I don't think any screen time is necessary for preschoolers.  Most of them spend too much time in front of a screen and with no effort they will be picking up on basic computer skills from their general environment.

We allow less than one hour a day here, for a 4yo.

[Polliwog]

Originally Posted by waiting2bemommy 

Well, and that is just another exmple of why parents should not trust an "expert" to tell them  that something is good or bad for thier children. NAEYC thinks all preschools should have screen time? Many parents trust that a school approved by NAEYC is a good preschool. How about spending the money that it would take to buy computers (I'm giving the benefit of the doubt here that they are not just talking about TV) and put that into creating an awesome outdoor playscape? It would never happen. So, now NAEYC certified schools, which are supposed to be good, are going to be plopping 2 and 3 yr olds in front of a screen and finding a way to make it sound positive.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves with daycares......turning on baby einstein or baby signing time or your baby can read, and marketing it to the parents as "educational." Well, sure, it's better than Spongebob, but that doesn't make it great. I'm glad I saw this, since I am considering Head Start for ds next year .I will definitely be asking them about this new recommendation and see what their stance is. I'm not anti-TV or anti-computer, and we even have an old sega console that ds likes to play with, but those are not apporpriate activities for a self-proclaimed learning environment, and certainly not on the parent's dime.

The NAEYC draft is just that. A draft. I'm part of several early childhood education groups and I can assure you. they didn't mean that all programs are EXPECTED to use passive technology.. We're working on it. I promise.

[swd12422]

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