I believe parents should limit their children’s screen time. Please see the article “Kids and Video Games”.
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Computers
Exposing your young children to limited computer use can have positive outcomes. Children can use text-to-speech programs when learning to write, read interactive books, and write emails to grandparents, among other uses. Computer software is also very useful for working with children with special needs and may be the only way children with certain impairments can connect to the world.
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NAEYC and the National Education Technology Standards for Students suggest guidelines for computer use. Find programs that avoid stereotypes and violence, are creative, encourage open communication, and promote critical thinking skills. It is best if the content relates to a child’s direct experiences and is integrated, interesting, challenging, and open-ended. It should support language development, accommodate various learning styles, involve cooperation, and engage higher-level thinking skills beyond memorization.
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How Television, Videos, and Certain Software Limit Development
Excessive screen time can limit development in various ways. First, TV and videos can deaden imagination. Children who watch a lot of TV can become passive. If they do play, they often follow a TV script instead of creating their own. Researchers Singer and Singer (2005) call this “imitative imagination”. Second, TV and videos expose children to violent and destructive characters and often teach children that the resolution of conflict involves violence. Play uses images from life experiences, so they play out what they know, and if their experience with problem-solving is from a violent TV show, they are more likely to imitate the violence when problem-solving in play. Third, young children have a difficult time separating fantasy from reality, and so TV and videos can be confusing to them. Fourth, commercials can turn children into mini-consumers. Robinson (2001) studied eight to ten-year-old children. When one of the groups studied decreased viewing time, there were 70% fewer requests for toys compared to the control group. Finally, what are children NOT doing when they are watching TV? Socializing, tinkering with a car with their dad, learning to cook, chasing bugs, skipping, hopping, pretending, reading, and more.
It is, therefore, important to limit screen time and be selective about what is watched.
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REFERENCE
Van Hoorn, J., Nourot, P. M., Scales, B., & Alward, K. R. (2011). Play at the center of the curriculum. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
