Simple Little Moments

Deciding when and if you allow your children to watch tv, use your phone, have their own tablet or play video games can be a difficult decision for some parents.

Today we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of screen time for kids, when (and if) you should even allow it at all, and some information and guidance for parents. Links will be included throughout the post so you can do additional research to make the best decision for your family.

What we cover today:
Pros to Screen Time
Risks of Screen Time
Recommendations from Pediatricians
Activities for Toddlers
How to Model Healthy Screen Time as Parents
My Conclusion (Personal Take!)

As a first time mom, I’ve put a lot of thought into screen time. When do we allow it? Where are the boundaries? It seems like there are so many different routes you can take with screen time as a parent and that can make decisions like this overwhelming. My son is currently a year & a half old, and we still haven’t let him watch tv or videos. Sometimes we let him look at photos on our phone, but we try to limit that screen too.

Are we overthinking it, or on the right track?

Hopefully this blog post will allow you to think about screen time a bit more so that you can make the most informed decision for you and your kids.

Are there pros to screen time for kids?

According to the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), there could be some benefits and positive impacts of screen time for children. The CPS indicates that moderation and limits are essential because babies and toddlers attend to screens in ways that can impact language acquisition, cognitive development, and socio-emotional health. Despite there being many potential risks of screen time too early on in a child’s life, there are potential pros, too:

• Social and emotional well-being: Screen time can help children develop social skills, empathy, and tolerance. It can also help children who have trouble making friends or communicating offline. While this could be especially helpful in later years, it is not as relevant for children under 5.
• Learning: Screen time can help children learn new skills, such as problem-solving, creativity, and communication. It can also help with early language and literacy development. 
• Anxiety relief: Screen time can help reduce anxiety by distracting children from their feelings. Although this could be true, continue reading to see how screen time could also hinder mental health and increase anxiety.
• Access to information: The internet can provide children with access to a wealth of information. 
• Visual intelligence and hand-eye coordination: Interacting with computers can help improve these skills.

Risks of too much screen time

Since I grew up in the 90’s, being a kid was all about being outside and playing barbies with my sisters. We really didn’t watch tv during the day, and it was only once I was a little older that we started watching shows in the evenings as a family. As parents today, we have so much technology at our disposable that we didn’t have “back in the day.” So what are the risks associated with too much screen time for kids?

Too much screen time can be linked to:

• Obesity
• Sleep problems
• Chronic neck and back pain
• Depression and anxiety
• Behavior problems
• Delays in language and social skills development
• Violence
• Attention problems
• Less time learning

“Evidence is growing that early childhood can be a critical time to prioritize interventions that prevent problematic screen use” – Michelle Ponti MD; Canadian Paediatric Society

Recommendations for screen time from Pediatricians

It can be easy as parents to put your baby in a swing, exersaucer, playpen with the tv on. It can be even more tempting to plop your toddler on the couch and turn on Peppa Pig just so you can have some time to do what you need to do. I can 100% relate with these feelings. It’s hard being a parent! But what fun is it taking the easy way out? The hard part of parenting is doing the right thing, disciplining properly, and shaping our kids to be the best version of themselves. So this is what the CPS recommends for screen time:

• Screen time for children younger than 2 years is not recommended apart from video-chatting with caring adults. There is no evidence to support introducing technology at an early age.
• For children 2 to 5 years, limit routine or sedentary screen time to about 1 hour or less per day.
• Ensure that sedentary screen time is not a routine part of child care for children younger than 5 years.
• Maintain daily screen-free times, especially for family meals and book-sharing.
• Avoid screens for at least 1 hour before bedtime, given the potential for stimulating and melatonin-suppressing effects.

Activities for Toddlers

In my opinion, screen time comes in handy when you need a distraction for your kids, or you need time alone to do something in the kitchen/go to the bathroom/make a phone call/you name it. There are so many great activities out there for toddlers to help foster independent play and creativity. Lately I’ve been turning to PlayDoh and stickers for my 18 month old! He loves removing stickers and putting them on…. well, anything!

Some of these activities might take a bit of prep work on your part, but can really help in a pinch:

• Toddler Approved: Quick Easy Activities for Toddlers: this really handy blog post has 25 different activities you can have your toddler do. Most of the suggestions include materials or items you already have at home.
• Oh Hey Let’s Play: Activities for 1-2 Year Old: list of activities to help stimulate fine motor skills, sensory play, and gross motor skills in your 1-2 year old.
• Reddit: I love using Reddit as a resource to find out information and tips from real parents. Sometimes it feels like your just getting advice from a friend. This thread includes lots of tips from parents about what toddler activities have helped them!

What can parents do to model healthy screen time?

Ever heard of the phrase “practice what you preach”?

Well, my husband and I have definitely been challenged by this phrase over the last 18+ months. We probably didn’t realize just how much we used our phones before we had our son. But since he was born, we’ve been really intentional about how much we use our phones. I try to limit my screen time to when my son goes down for a nap or when he goes to bed at night. During the day, when he’s up, I try to not really use my phone at all unless I’m replying to a text or making a call. Trust me, this has taken some getting used to. The CPS has recommendations for how parents can actually model healthy screen time for their children:

• Minimize their own screen use around young children, especially during mealtimes, play, and other prime opportunities for social learning.
• Prioritize interactions with children through conversation, play, and healthy, active routines.
• Decide when to use media together and turn off screens when not in use.
• Ensure that media used in the presence of children is free of stereotyping, advertising, or other problematic content.

It’s not easy avoiding screen time

Like I mentioned, parenting is hard. Sometimes it can feel so tempting to just “put a show on” or let your kid watch a YouTube video while you do xyz. I’d argue that this is a slippery slope because you can easily get used to that feeling as a parent; of being able to have complete freedom to do a task. But your child will get used to the feeling of screen time too and begin to ask for it, and want more of it.

Personally, our approach right now is: no screen time. We plan to potentially implement screen time when we eventually have a second baby. I imagine we may need to turn to screen time occasionally at that time, but until then we’re trying our best to avoid screens completely.

What’s your take? Did you learn anything new from this post?