Screen Time for Young Children- the Outs

So...now for the "outs" of screen time for young children. As you may have guessed there are plenty of reasons to limit the amount of screen time for young children- and studies to back them up. Click here to see the pediatrician recommended amount of screen time for each developmental age and here for a current study about the effects of screen time on the brain, but before you do, take part in my poll, to your right.

Doctors taut a "subtle damage" that occurs with excessive screen use. Recent studies show children spending an average of 7 hours a day in front of screens. That is over 3 times what is recommended, and concerning given what risk there is for the developing brain's frontal lobe. In fact, researchers have found that excessive screen time can atrophy (lessen) parts of the the frontal lobe important for executive function and empathy. That's a big deal- children need to be able to make positive choices to get through their day and accomplish tasks (executive function) and one would hope children would become adults with hopefully enough empathy to make the world a better place.

While some screen use is arguably "better" than others (using a computer to do school work vs. watching screen violence for example),  the dopamine associated with pleasurable screen use can also be somewhat addictive. If you have experienced a child who is unreasonably beyond unhappy at being asked to turn off a screen, you might be witnessing this effect. If you can liken their behavior to yours after not being able to have your morning coffee- maybe it's time to limit screens a bit?

Game-like learning apps take advantage of this effect. When children experience a dopamine rush while learning math in a game-like app like Dreambox, will they be addicted to learning math? It's an interesting question, and I think for some young students, the answer might be yes. However, how much should game-like learning apps drive the learning of students today?

Especially for younger students, I would mostly recommend social, play based learning over game-like learning apps. As a leader of learning, for students in Pre-K to 2nd grade, I would be a little apprehensive to see groups of children this age asked to sit in front of a screen for more than 30 minutes at a time. For 3rd grade and up, I see no problem including screen time for game-like learning apps as long as it's within pediatrician recommended guidelines, and keeps in mind children are probably spending additional time on screens at home.

In conclusion for the "outs" of screen time for young children, while I highly recommend- to educators and families- following the pediatrician recommended amount of screen time for young children, I realize educators and parents must make their own choices. To that effect, I'll share that I'm very honest with my son about screen time. I've let him know what studies show it does to your brain, and I'd like him to follow what doctors recommend for him. He doesn't like it when I limit his screen time, but my hope is that he'll be able to forgive me for it later.