No, Pills Don’t Necessarily Rot a Child’s Brain.
According to many experts, young children shouldn’t have a lot of screen time . But tablets and smartphones are becoming so commonplace that these recommendations are beginning to seem unrealistic. However, screen time isn’t necessarily bad for kids.
There is a lot of research on children and screen time, and I also reached out to Claire Smith , an early language development researcher who is also a speech therapist and language therapist, to get to the bottom of things. Here’s what you need to know.
Not all screen time is the same
AAP connects tablets and smartphones with televisions and other devices when they dictate “screen time” restrictions. But many of the studies cited in support of these restrictions apply to television and video games (especially violent ones). This is understandable because television has been studied for a lot longer than smartphones and tablets, but it also gloss over the major differences between devices and what kids do with them.
“[I’m] tempted to draw conclusions from research on television and computer use, and I think the extent to which you can do that will depend on the question being asked,” Smith says.
Television has been blamed for attention disorders in children, but as Melinda Wenner-Moyer writes in Slate , the results of these studies oftendisappear when researchers consider other factors, such as socioeconomic status and content type. She writes: “I don’t see Endless Alphabet and Grand Theft Auto as the same thing, and neither do media researchers.”
Television is passive: all sorts of things happen and you can watch them. What’s happening is also not personalized for you: someone’s grandmother may be shown on TV, but this is not your grandmother.
One of the pediatricians who made the AAP recommendation wrote in JAMA Pediatrics (note that he spoke on his own behalf, not from the AAP) that playing on the iPad is much more like playing with blocks or reading a book with a guardian than passively watching. TV. He’s writing:
In particular, caregivers should always ask themselves what their child would otherwise be doing if it were not for the all-around touchscreen. For example, I cringe when I see families in restaurants together, each staring at their own personal device, thus avoiding the increasingly rare opportunity for family interaction. On the other hand, given that 90% of children under the age of 2 now regularly use TV and DVD, there is a real possibility that interactive media will replace traditional media, which I would support, at least in terms of harm reduction.
He concludes that touchscreen devices are likely suitable for children under two years of age, about an hour a day, which is equivalent to the time they spend playing with traditional toys.
In its evidence-based guidelines , nonprofit Zero To Three discourages setting a time limit on screen interactions because the type of content is more important than how much time a child spends with it. They encourage parents or guardians to talk to their child about what they are watching, try to relate the content to the real world (perhaps by acting out what you see on the screen), and continue the conversation while off-screen, such as sorting laundry or toys by color after coloring games.
Make sure kids get real-world experiences
Children need to learn a lot to be successful in real life. Toddlers need to keep an eye on faces, talk to people who listen and can respond, manipulate real 3D objects, etc. All children, like adults, need to maintain flexibility in their social skills, be able to focus on tasks and learn to manage their time wisely. So, while tablets aren’t as bad as TVs, kids still need to develop these real-world skills.
Children who spent time at camp without screens showed better social skills after just five days. Although this was widely known as hitting the screen, the results may have more to do with what the kids did than what they didn’t: they spent time interacting with their peers’ teams. Corey Turner writes on NPR :
What likely led to the improvement was that instead of texting or playing games, the students worked together, face to face, constantly deciphering each other’s expressions, tone of voice, and posture.
Takeaway: Social skills require ongoing maintenance.
The good news, according to this study, is that we can improve these skills in a relatively short amount of time with practice. The bad news is that screen time often comes at the expense of this vital personal time.
And in some cases, apps can help social development. For example, a study published in the journal Child Development found that although toddlers did not learn words well when watching TV passively, they learned by video chatting with a real person, as well as from real-life conversations.
That said, while app stores are rife with games that claim to be educational, it’s unclear if kids will learn more than how to make a particular game work.
Think about what your child is learning.
Phones and tablets are tools, not just toys. Children see their parents using the devices, so it is natural for them to want to learn, and they can use the devices not only for vegetarianism, but also for other purposes.
For example, children may learn to send text messages and emails to family and friends, or video chat with their family (which, as we saw above, they may perceive more as a real-life interaction than a TV). They can also learn to research their own questions. Siri and Google Now are great helpers for kids who can’t type yet.
I asked Smith how she sees phones and tablets as tools and not just toys. She agreed:
We now live in a world where this technology opens up opportunities for enhanced social interaction, learning, work and play. In fact, this is becoming the norm, and our children are expected to become proficient in this technology. It is just another form of media that you can and should use as you see fit. Choosing devices and apps is no different than choosing toys or books, and each choice must be made individually. My own children are addicted to social media and gaming, and we do our best to help them cope with the risks and rewards involved. Just as a conscientious parent teaches a child about the rules of the road, the dangers of strangers, a balanced diet and a disciplined approach to learning, this can extend to learning about modern technology and the online world.
Children will have to learn how to use technology someday, so it makes sense for them to explore this part of the world while they are young. But remember that when kids go to school, computers are often desktop type. If you want to show off your child’s technical knowledge, take him to the public library and make sure he can use a mouse.
Bottom line: screen time alone doesn’t hurt
“There is no evidence yet that touchscreen devices harm young children,” Smith says.
While young children may not understand an e-book as well as a book about a dead tree, she says research on understanding “highlights that children are likely to benefit from a range of different media in different ways, and recommend to parents be aware of the differences so that they can use different tools and guide children accordingly. “
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what we know:
- Children take a long time to explore the real world
- They don’t necessarily learn from videos and apps, or from interacting with people and objects.
- They need to practice social interaction in order to communicate well on social networks (but remember that some applications help this goal, for example Skype).
- Children who spend a lot of time in front of the screen or who have devices near their bed tend to have trouble sleeping , but this is atwo-way street : Children who cannot sleep are more likely to watch videos at night. (Screens can interfere with sleep in adults as well.)
- The Internet, phones and tablets are part of the world in which children grow up.
It is worth taking a close look at whether the rampant screen time is causing your child to miss out on what they need for healthy development, such as sleep, exercise, real-life play, and social interaction with loving parents and caregivers.
So no, you’re not necessarily a bad parent for letting your kid mess around with your phone or even buying a tablet for him. It’s all about the big picture.
Obviously keeping screens away from kids is one way to make sure screens don’t get in the way of these good things, but it’s not the only strategy. (You might argue that other obsessions, such as an unusual addiction to books, like I had as a child, can create similar problems, even if they are not related to the screen.)
Screen time limits are another popular solution, but they are imperfect. Not all screen time is equal, and a child who gets a lot of good things in their life may not need to turn off the screen after an hour, as if an hour and a half were going to harm him somehow.
In fact, a child who manages to get all the positive moments for development in his life may not need any restrictions at all. I know this might sound crazy. Zero to three states that “without restriction, most kids will use a tablet computer all day, eat only sweets, never go to bed … the list goes on,” but personally I have not found this to be true. My kids have no screen time limits, and they voluntarily put their tablets aside in favor of actual toys or activities. I believe it’s because they know they can pick up the tablet again whenever they want. The benefits of limiting screen time must be weighed against the real risk of turning it into the forbidden fruit.
Images by Brian Hagen , Jerin Lay , Glenn Bakholtz , Austin Marshall .