Is Screen Time Really So Bad for Your Kids?

You’ve seen it, I’ve seen it, you may even have it happening in your home as you read this: Kids are obsessed with tablets. The average two-to-four year old is watching about an hour and a half of screen time per day. It does make you wonder if the people at Apple knew that some of the most die-hard iPad fans would be too young to walk into the Apple store and buy one themselves! As much as your kiddos may love them, though, a lot of people will give you side-eye when they see your preschooler watching Elmo over and over on your (or perhaps her own!) device. So, is it okay or is it not okay to let your kids have some screen time now and then?

I’m especially interested in this because as you may have guessed, having four children of my own, I sometimes turn to the iPad to help make travel easier, or simply to distract them enough to get them to eat their broccoli. I know it’s probably not the best of choices, so I’m trying to cut back on it myself!

A new study out of Georgetown University recommends limiting screen time with little ones, because they learn far more and far faster from in-person, face-to-face interactions with adults—but they also provided some really smart tips for making the most out of the screen time you do allow your children. Here are a few important things to think about the next time your little pumpkin wants video time:

* Make sure what your child is watching is actually educational, and if possible, interactive. Programming that helps your child with her ABCs or that asks her questions about what she’s just seen, urging her to talk back to the screen with the answer, are good examples.

*  Naturally, if your child is watching videos or the TV, you should be watching it with them instead of using the screen as a babysitter. But don’t just be an idle viewer. Point out things on the screen, like how many puppies are in the basket, or ask your child questions about what she sees like, “What color is the little girl’s coat?” Real-life interactive viewing helps children learn more from their screen time.

* Find ways to connect what you’ve watched to the real world around you. For instance, if you watch a video together where Elmo eats broccoli and carrots, tell your child that what Elmo ate looked yummy and suggest a trip to the market to get food like Elmo ate. Then, when you’re making it and sitting down to eat the meal, you can make the connection again, and follow the meal with another viewing of the video, as repetition also helps speed learning.

Another bit of advice? Try not to over indulge in screen time, yourself. You’ll be surprised at how many wonderful, fun, and surprising moments you will share with your little one if you ditch your phone or tablet for the weekend. It might be hard at first (it was for me, believe me!) but I promise you, it will pay off.