Media Use by Young Kids
One of our most requested virtual learning topic has been about screen time and media, which was adapted from Screen Sense 2018.
Screen sense is a wonderful reference for families and professionals to make informed decisions on utilizing media in their homes. The researchers behind Screen Sense emphasize why we should become better informed caregivers when it comes to media and technology because these will not be disappearing. In reality, we are all going to be facing more and more technology in our future.
I will link an executive summary and guide for choosing media below.
Do you ever wonder why professionals recommend no screen time for infants and young toddlers even if there's so much content advertised for making babies smart? Or why they say for toddlers, it has to be co-viewing?
First things first! We must still be aware and understand that the recommendation from our pediatricians still hold true.
One of the important things we highlighted is the drawbacks of media use that may not be the optimal way for younger kids to be learning. This is the concept of transfer of learning and their ability to translate 2D images into their real life, 3D experience. Therefore, we still highly encourage learning through real life experiences.
Transfer of Learning is the ability to apply a 2D object to a 3D object. Can they already understand concepts from shows or even pages and apply it to real life? Most very young children can't do this yet or some can, but will need the help of an adult to make this translation.
Some kids can seem really smart because they can memorize names of things in the show or gadget, say the letters and numbers, but they do not necessarily learn to apply it to other situations. Unless an actual person helps them understand it's meaning and real life application, they just showed you they have good memory.
Therefore, even if kids can pick-up information from watching media, research has shown that they still learn more easily from real-life interactions with someone compared to information delivered on a screen.
Keep in mind though, if we will be introducing gadgets to kids, then the content must be appropriate for their age and taught in the context of relationships and supervision by a knowledgeable adult.
Sharing the Screen Sense parent resource to help guide you in screen media use with children 0-3 years old.
Updated: November 14, 2021