Photo courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio
Screens are everywhere in 2021, even in the hands of young, impressionable minds. While some parents struggle with setting boundaries and limits of technology use for their kids, Nationwide Children’s Hospital licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Michael Flores says his opinion on the matter is pretty cut and dried.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children who are less than 18 months old should have no screen time with technology such as tablets, TV or other screens. Flores agrees, suggesting that once a child reaches preschool age, they can have limited screen time and should engage with educational programming such as Sesame Street.
“Children don’t benefit from screen time because they don’t cognitively understand,” he adds.
However, no expert is claiming parents must be perfectly stringent with this rule. The pandemic has certainly revised previous guidelines, especially as technology is one of the few ways children can socialize with friends and relatives during the stay at home order.
“It’s challenging to keep kids from screens because of the pandemic,” Flores says.
The benefits of engaging with relatives and family friends outweigh the negative effects of using technology. Connecting socially helps children develop the skills they need to thrive in the world.
Flores recommends parents build the guardrails necessary to prevent technology from negatively affecting their children’s health. He says it’s important to keep bedrooms as free of screens as possible, create finite time limits for using the technology and establish routines. It’s important for parents of children ages 18 months to 2 years old to watch educational TV programs to enhance the child’s learning experience.
“Parents help scaffold that material in a way a child is more able to understand and relate to and therefore retain,” Flores says.
Some parents, understandably, may choose to use technology to keep their children preoccupied during high-stress situations such as in the middle of errands or work.
“That happens all the time,” Flores says. “(The screens are) meant to be engaging.”
While it may help a squirming, screaming child calm down while you wait 20 minutes in a doctor’s office waiting room, it’s a short-term fix that can have long-term consequences such as decreased physical activity, which can lead to a higher risk of obesity and less social engagement.
Photo courtesy of Julia M Cameron
Flores says he hopes families can transition back to the recommended media consumption habits that were in place prior to the onset of COVID-19. He recommends parents create a media plan for the whole family to follow
For instance, families may have a rule to not use devices during dinner. That includes parents, too, who may want to check their various social media pages and emails. One of the biggest things to remember when setting house rules for technology and screen time is that parents must model the same behavior to set a good example. Think of these three Ms: moderate content, moderate time and model behavior.
“Parents should model the behavior they want to see,” Flores says.
Brandon Klein is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at bklein@cityscenemediagroup.com.
