Redeeming Screen Time: How to Manage Your Child’s Tech Exposure
Today’s parents are facing a scourge even bigger than candy before breakfast. The new childhood-destroying supervillain?
Screen time.
Screen time is one of the most divisive and discussed (and let’s be honest, judged) issues in the past decade. As handheld devices like phones, tablets, video game consoles and laptops have worked their way permanently into our daily lives, parents have struggled with how best to balance this new fact of life with their children’s best interests.
While screen time has been both championed (it increases hand-eye coordination, encourages reading comprehension and independence) and heavily demonized (it discourages the development of healthy social skills, negatively affects physical health, increases the risk of dangerous online behavior, etc.), the real truth may be somewhere in the middle.
According to Andrew Przybyski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute, "very few children, if any, routinely use television and device-based screens enough, on average, to show significantly lower levels of psychological functioning.” Przybylski adds: “Findings indicate that other aspects of digital engagement, including what is on screens and how caregivers moderate their use, are far more important."
Now, with years of screen usage and research behind us, it’s clear that the ‘how’ behind how screens are used is proving to be more important than the ‘how much’. After all, not all types of screen time are equal. In fact, there are four distinct types of screen time:
Passive
Active
Creative
Communicative
Of these four types, passive is the least desirable. It helps to think of passive screen time as being more “consumptive.” It involves watching screens with minimal cognitive engagement. For example, watching TV, online videos, scrolling through social media. As with all “consumptive” things in life, moderation is key.
Here is where parents come in. Once you are aware of the different types of screen time and which are most and least beneficial, you can monitor your children’s screen time with more confidence. Feel the weight and ‘mom guilt’ melt off your shoulders as you invite your children to play math games on their tablets, or to borrow your phone for a video call to Grandma and Grandpa.
Screen time is a fact of life that isn’t going anywhere. Technology has ingrained itself comfortably into our daily lives and routines, and if we’re honest, we know we’d be (literally) lost without it. Let’s spend our time learning how to properly interact with our world as it stands today instead of burning energy trying to figure out how to cling desperately to the past. There is happiness to be found in a middle ground where kids play outside and then spend some time reading on or interacting with an online device when it suits them. After all, these devices will be even further ingrained in their daily lives as technology continues to leap forward, so isn’t it better for them to understand their uses (and dangers) so that they have the tools to make healthy, balanced decisions into the future?
At Coco Coders, we understand how difficult it is for today’s parents to make the best decisions for their kids to both encourage healthy day to day choices as well as ensure that their children are prepared to succeed in a tech-focused future. That’s why we’ve gathered insightful and helpful information from foremost authorities on technology and child development and put it into one convenient guide. And because we are parents ourselves and understand how stressful thinking about our kids’ futures can be, we’ve made it free for everyone.
Our Guide to Raising Future Ready Kids is filled with information that will help to demystify the technological future and how it may affect our children. With lots of helpful tips and info about the best and healthiest ways to encourage your children to interact and stay safe with technology, you’ll rest easy knowing you’ve made confident, informed decisions about your child’s health and future.
You’ve got this, Mom and Dad!