Last October, the American Academy of Pediatrics released the results of a new study on young children and video screen time concluding that limited exposure is highly recommended, less than two hours per day, and children under two years of age should not be exposed.
Dr. Catherine Cohen, a Psychologist with a private practice in Sacramento who works with adolescents and their families, concurs.
“It’s up to parents to manage media (including our own use of media when around our kids) just as we manage the food choices we offer our kids at mealtimes,” Cohen said. “Parents can certainly make decisions to counter commercial attempts to convince us that because an iPad for a toddler exists, it’s OK. Same goes for sugary cereal. Moderation and common sense is critical.”
While Cohen does not believe that limiting screen time is the only factor for happy, well adjusted children, she wants parents to appreciate a child’s ability to find her own happiness is impacted by how much dependence upon passive interaction we allow.
“Most very young kids don't have the attention span to sit and become overexposed, (conversely some will go into a near trance-like state in front of a video). Perhaps it's our beautifully human way of self-preservation; you will see little ones gravitate towards an iPad and poke at images for a while but then get distracted once they've had their fill. In older kids, extended media play can make a child easily bored and then they may have a harder time finding entertaining and creative things on their own,” Cohen said. “With media, the input is fairly passive. Thus parents may want to make their own lives easier by reducing the amount of ‘I'm bored- what should I do’ moments by directing kids to develop their own self-activating skills.”
Parent Resources
- Parenting in the Network Culture
- A Parent’s Voice in the Cyber Wilderness
- Dr. Catherine Cohen, Psychologist
- American Academy of Pediatricians
(Ref: 545-e)
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