The problem is that parents are using screen time as a nanny, and are training their kids to rely on them as such.
IMO, kids need to be taught self-control and have the ability to entertain themselves before screens are introduced.
Toddler age is definitely too early, I am in the opinion that as little as necessary until it starts to be required in school.
My 2nd grader knows that screens are useful and has seen limited use, wikipedia, video calls, but he is always accompanied by me. And he has no reliance on them.
2 years old would be quite young for regular screen time, IMHO and from what I've read. We mostly kept our kids off of screens until around three, with some exceptions. After that, we use designated "screen time," which has, historically, been an hour during dinner prep time and a some extra on the weekends. We've definitely had to hold our ground as they got older and found themselves at friends' houses.
They're 10 and 6 now and we're a bit more lenient about it. They have a bit in the morning before school as motivation and a bit more in the morning on the weekend. They play outside a lot with each other and with friends so we're less worried than we've been in the past.
In terms of social isolation ... our kids will 9 times out of 10 voluntarily skip screen time if they have a friend to play with or often they'll play a game on an iPad with a friend, which feels better than on their own. I've read that the problems with too much screen time comes down to reducing time moving their bodies, building social skills, and thinking for themselves. They seem to be doing great with that on their own so our anxiety around it has gone down quite a bit over time (it was quite high in the beginning).
Our oldest is now asking for her own phone, which is a whole other thing. I'm desperate not to become a family that just sits around with our heads buried in our devices and I've had to be mindful myself of being a good example there.
More directly to the topic of this discussion: the problem with screens is that they are a very easy tool for making children shut up and stop bothering the adults, and a much more difficult tool to make into a challenging and thoughtful experience. As a result many adults lean on using screens to distract their children much more than they absolutely need, and end up reliant on them. And the kids end up using screens in a way that is wasting a ton of time and not helping their development.
The material on screen is very often (from what I can observe just walking around town and seeing kids looking at them) grossly inappropriate for the child’s current level – either too simple and repetitive or too advanced and incomprehensible – but the sounds, colors, and especially movement are so exciting as pure distraction that kids will sit entranced, whether or not they are learning anything. The overstimulation from the screen is addictive enough for the kids that the kids will start to fuss and cry when the screen is removed, and when given the choice the screen will crowd out other toys and activities.
It is probably possible to make a screen a meaningful learning experience for young kids, but few parents (especially the ones who are using the screen to get a break from childcare) have the time to research and personally vet material to figure that out.
If a kid watches 30m of Mr. Rogers every day, they’re going to be fine. But the kids watching 2 hours of YouTube low-budget animated nursery rhymes on loop, or watching endless unboxing videos, or playing a too-easy iPad game, when they could otherwise be playing with and learning about the physical world, are really missing out.
This is not to say that kids shouldn’t regularly spend some time entertaining themselves while the parents do something else. But if they can learn to do so with a wimmelbook or some crayons or some blocks or a cardboard box.... they’re usually going to be learning more than if stuck in front of a TV.
I don't disagree with you, but your personal anecdote is irrelevant and worthless. She's the most advanced. So the 95% of kids are doing worse than she is. Do you have data on how much screen time the other kids are getting, and how it is affecting them?
You can't go from complaining about lack of research and then using your single data point, incorrectly.
Anyway, the article may not say it but there is research in the field, and it concludes that screen time is harmful at young ages. I don't believe any research has followed kids for say 20 years (and i mean, we haven't had tiny addictive screens and apps that long anyway) to see if they "recover" or catch up or even surpass their peers when they get older.
Lastly, if you literally only allow her to use the screen once/week for a couple of hours, you are not near the realm where they are finding screens to be harmful. I'm sure you've been out at literally any restaurant and half the toddlers are glued to the screen, as a first resort.
I would bet on too much screen time for the whole family; seen it first hand. Parents sitting on their devices all evening and not interacting with their children. It's a missed opportunity for learning, especially at a young age.
You're going to get a lot of skewed results here, because a lot of parents aren't going to feel comfortable telling the truth: that almost all parents allow a reasonable amount of screen time to their kids, even if they know it's not the healthiest thing for them.
Personally, we have a four year old and an almost-two year old, and they're watching a Leapfrog show on the TV as we speak. We limit their access to screens, but realistically there are times when they're really useful.
Controversial opinion, but I don't think kids ages 2 to 4 should be having screen time, let alone an activity that is better presented with real objects.
That's my main problem with all this "screen time is bad" stuff.
There's a huge difference between a kid spending 2 hours playing Flappy Bird and spending 2 hours playing with an educational app, or drawing/painting in an app, or watching tutorials on YouTube.
It's like saying "time at the park is bad for you" because some kids go to the park to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol.
Screen time isn't bad for kids. Parents not controlling what kids DO on the screens is bad for kids. It's all just another convenient thing for parents to point at and blame for their lazy parenting.
Moderate what your kids do, push them towards using screens and technology in educational and beneficial ways that stimulate their imagination and creativity, control the amount of time they spend sedentary, and teach them that like all things in life, balance and variety are important.
(Parent of 2 kids, who get unlimited access to TV, game consoles, and a tablet, and would much rather play Lego)
I suspect treating screen use as "treats" may not be ideal.
I also have a 2 year old son and am very curious about this.
It's tough, because I do know whatever I do won't be ideal, and we won't know till later when we learn more about how our brains work what we really should be doing with regards to screen use by kids.
And, at the same time, things are accelerating fast, so there's a decent chance tech is totally different by the time our children are in high school, or even elementary school.
I think that in an ideal world, we'd all use technology all the time and it'd be a natural extension of ourselves letting us be fuller versions of ourselves and more present with each other. It's a shame we're not in that world yet, and I'm hopeful that as we get richer humanity starts designing tech to be more agency increasing with this target in mind rather than losing agency to shorter term incentives.
With our 2 year old, I think the highest impact thing we do is try to strict about being present with him and not on our phones. I suspect this might be much more important than whatever rules are established for a child's own use of technology.
I think the key is that at a young age, they lack the self-control needed to know when to pull themselves away from the screens. They need to be reminded to go to the bathroom, eat meals, go to sleep, etc. By not being proactive with limiting the time, you risk delaying them learning the basic self-control.
The good news is they gain these skills over time. I can see my 4 year old already gaining this control which she lacked earlier. The thing is it takes some diligence from the parents until they get there.
Screen time is inherently lazy. Young children do not have complex learning/entertainment requirements where a book or pens and paper wouldn’t suffice.
Make your own entertainment/learning tools, it’s part of the fun.
So even though you may think the educational aspect as well as bring present is good enough, you’re still training your kids to go straight to screens instead of putting in effort or just being bored.
Finding things to do, being creative is a part of being a kid, and at that age, IMO, you’re doing a huge disservice to them.
Kids need to learn restraint and self-control before open-ended device usage. Let them figure out how to be bored first. Set time limits, teach them what healthy usage is.
We didn't start time screen time for our kid until ~6. We required a log entry to be written so it's purpose driven, not mindless usage.
We have a 2.5 year old. Hello to all other HN toddler owners^H^H^H^H^Hparents.
Regarding screentime we are pretty strict. He is not allowed more than 15 minutes a day, and that is from a selection of some farm videos. He's also got his own iPhone but it's not on WiFi and it's only so that if he wants to take photos. They learn very quickly at this age.
Whatever you do, don't let your toddler browse YouTube or something like that on their own, it's like a continuous endorphine kick and they'll just want to do it instead of healthier activities like being outside.
Almost every child that uses a screen is just using it to consume. Yes in theory it is simplistic to say "screen time bad", not everything needs to be a super detailed, super nuanced discussion all the time.
The summary box at the very top of your link says "children learn better and more efficiently from play and interaction
in the “real,” three-dimensional (3-D) world with parents, caregivers, and peers" and that there is "no research showing that when children younger than 2 years old use these devices independently it enhances
their development" and implies that the only reason for having > 0 screentime is simply because there's so many screens you might as well give up.
Sounds pretty much the same as the AAP advice, just more cynical.
It looks from elsewhere in this thread you're taking this as a criticism of your parenting skills. Yes, it is easier just to turn the TV on to distract your kids for 15 minutes. When all is said and done we don't know what the effects are and even if they aren't great, there's millions of other kids doing the same thing so it'll probably be OK. But that doesn't mean that other people might find it in their interests to find a way to eliminate that tool for distraction. Maybe you can too - suppose the kids helped you with dinner? Even very young children can be taught to contribute with basic tasks.
Not to discount what you're saying because I may be wrong here but could it be that, because your child is well behaved and can play happily by himself, you haven't had a need to give him screen time?
I can see parents giving their child a screen because of the fact they need to distract the child for a few minutes while they do something.
Like, what came first? The screentime or the good behavior?
I don't limit the time my kids can use screens at all. When I was a kid I watched TV or played video games for about 12 hours a day at weekends and as much as I could at other times. It didn't do me any harm. In fact the obsession with computers probably helped me with my career.
I don't allow social media though, as that is undeniably toxic. Also attention span reducing tiktok is not allowed. They watch a lot of YouTube, and we watch stuff together sometimes. It is basically the TV of their generation and although some of the stuff they watch is mindless, some of it is informative and helps them develop useful skills.
But do you watch YouTube or use screens around him? That's my problem with the advice to limit screen time. Why should I be telling my child not to do something that everyone around him is doing?
IMO, kids need to be taught self-control and have the ability to entertain themselves before screens are introduced.
Toddler age is definitely too early, I am in the opinion that as little as necessary until it starts to be required in school.
My 2nd grader knows that screens are useful and has seen limited use, wikipedia, video calls, but he is always accompanied by me. And he has no reliance on them.
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