For Young Kids, Screen Time Isn’t Just an At-Ho...

Screens are everywhere these days. So, it seems, is the debate surrounding their role in children’s development. Much of the conversation about how much and what type of screen time is appropriate for young kids is focused on the use of digital technology at home, under the purview of a child’s parents and primary caregivers. But the reality is that a majority of children age 5 and under spend at least part of their week in an early care and education setting, where screen time may be less visible, but is often present in some form. And when communication between parents and early educators falls short, young children may end up spending more time with screens than experts recommend — and their parents intend. In early learning environments, screen use varies widely, said Rebecca Parlakian, senior director of programs at Zero to Three, a nonprofit focused on early childhood development. Some settings are screen-free, while others set parameters like time limits or restricting screens for educational use only, and others allow children to watch movies or short videos for entertainment. “Depending on who cares for your child and what the practices are, it could go the whole range,” Parlakian said. Although expert guidance around screen time has begun to move away from offering clear duration-based limits, there is still a large body of research informing best practices around children and digital media — and that research emphasizes the importance of in-person, hands-on and relational interactions for young children. But often, program staff and parents are not communicating with one another about how much or what kind of screen time a child is getting in each environment, said Kate Blocker, director of research and programs at Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development. “We have to acknowledge that has to apply across the contexts they’re in and is not repeated,” Blocker said. “The communication gaps are really real, I think.” Although some states are beginning to legislate whether and how screens can be used in early care and education settings, a program’s approach to screen time is more often driven by the philosophy and preferences of its owner or director. In the absence of clear, cohesive guidelines for the field, that can be a daunting task, said LaTonya Richardson, owner and director of The Academy of Learning and Early Care, a licensed, nationally accredited family child care program in Jacksonville, Florida. “Technology in early childhood is not a black-and-white thing,” Richardson said. “We need clearer guidance, and we need realistic goals.” Many of the best-known early childhood advocacy and membership organizations do offer some recommendations for programs around screen use. The National Association for Family Child Care, for example, includes guidelines for “television and computers” in its quality standards, including limits of 30 minutes of screen time per day for children over age 2 and none for those who are under 2. But the field lacks a set of go-to guidelines that all program leaders and staff can reference, much the way that many families view the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Instead, Richardson said, her approach has evolved over the years as she’s learned in real-time what works well for children and what doesn’t. Today, she and the other two teachers in her program use some technology with the 12 children they serve — who range in age from 7 months old to 5 years old — but they keep it brief and reserve it for times when a screen can add something to the learning experience. “Technology is used as a tool, not as a replacement for teaching,” she said. “We believe children learn best through play, conversations and movement.” When screens come out, Richardson said, they are used with intention. Earlier that week, one of the program’s teachers used a tablet during circle time to play short videos of a few nursery rhymes the group had recently read together. It was intended to recap the lesson and deepen the children’s understanding of the stories, Richardson said. One video was of Humpty Dumpty. In it, the kids could see Humpty Dumpty falling, in motion. They could watch as he cracked into several pieces. Another video was of Jack and Jill. The children were able to see Jack and Jill tumbling down the hill. “It’s to give them something else than we’re already doing so they can see and feel and interact in different ways when we’re using the tablet,” Richardson explained. The older kids can also access a tablet to practice concepts like counting or the alphabet. Her staff limits this activity to five minutes at a time. “If a child wants to see the tablet, they know now, when they see the hourglass, ‘My time is up.’ There’s no getting upset. They put it down and move on to the next thing,” she said. “It’s all about guidance, support and making sure everyone’s clear on what the role is when it comes to using those devices.” It helps when those messages are communicated consistently across both home and school settings, Richardson added. At one point, she held a workshop for families to help them understand what healthy technology use looks like for young children, and to understand the trade-offs of granting their kids screen time at home. Some parents expressed that their children were getting into the car after pickup demanding a tablet, and they didn’t know how to set boundaries. “It’s not to shame any parents,” Richardson said of the workshops and resources her program provides to families. “It’s to work with them so they can work with us.” At the Primrose School of Evergreen, a private early learning program located in the heart of Silicon Valley, parents overwhelmingly view technology as a positive, said owner Bejal Patel. The preschool is part of Primrose Schools, a national chain of more than 500 early care and education centers. Patel’s center is piloting a new learning app from Primrose Schools called Balanced Learning that will be made available to all programs this fall. The app was designed for children ages 3, 4 and 5 and is intended to complement the hands-on activities and lessons that children are working on in the classroom. “There’s so much external content that might be fun and flashy … but we’re trying to get kids to think critically, solve a real-world problem,” said April Poindexter, head of curriculum and innovation at Primrose Schools, about the new learning app. “So it requires active engagement.” One experience children may have on the app, she said, would reinforce a learning unit on gardening and pollinators. In the classroom, children may learn about gardening and taking care of the earth. Outside, they may plant seeds and tend to the school’s real garden. In the app, they can read further about pollinators or design their own pollinator garden based on information found in the app. Another app experience, Poindexter said, offers children an opportunity to view short videos about age-appropriate social challenges, such as starting a new school, and then use a handheld mirror to observe their own facial expressions. “It’s all designed to be short, sweet, brief and very purposeful to what they’re learning,” Poindexter said. Primrose centers, she added, do not use any digital media for entertainment and do not introduce any children under age 3 to screens. Patel, the owner of the Primrose location in Silicon Valley, said that aligns with her school’s approach. “Screens don’t enter classrooms until preschool,” she said. “Infants and toddlers — that’s non-negotiable. At this age, we know there’s no app that can replicate what a caring adult and a sensory bin can do for a 2-year-old’s development. When children reach preschool age, that’s where technology enters, but very carefully.” Children may use the Balanced Learning app up to twice a week, for no more than 15 minutes, Poindexter noted. Patel acknowledged that the transition away from the app ca…

create your storyflo · everywhere you listen.

For Young Kids, Screen Time Isn’t Just an At-Home Issue Anymore