Screen Time Choices
We have all heard that as parents we are supposed to somehow limit the amount of “screen time” our children have every day. I read an article recently, though, that spoke of the concept of screen time as a moving target. In the 1960s and 70s, when I was growing up, my parents didn’t really have to limit the amount of TV my siblings and I watched because, quite frankly, there wasn’t much interesting on the television past 30 minutes of Gilligan’s Island and another 30 of Brady Bunch. Playing a board game or riding bikes was definitely more interesting than anything else on the television, which was of course the only screen we knew way back when!
Things have changed since then in drastic ways, making choices parents must make about television much more complicated. Limiting television to an hour or so after homework is done feels like a reasonable choice to many families. Other families take a stronger approach and limit television to weekends only. Some families even take the step of having no televisions in their homes at all. As a parent and a teacher I respect and admire each of these choices. I especially appreciate the choice most parents make to keep televisions out of their children’s bedrooms, recognizing that watching TV in an unsupervised and/or solitary way is never the right thing for children or teens. There are good reasons for parents to make careful choices about how much and what type of TV their children are exposed to. TheAmericanAcademyof Pediatrics has a position statement on their website citing research related to children and television. According to them the amount of television children watch is directly related to violent behavior, self-image and body concept, nutrition, and even substance use and abuse. The sexually suggestive and violent nature of much mainstream television and commercials is inappropriate for children and teens. It seems clear that limiting or even eliminating television in our homes is the right choice.
Difficult as that seems, the ubiquity of screens in our lives makes me wish things were only that easy. After we have madeinformed choices and set clear limits about televisions in our homes, we are still left with tough decisions to make regarding the other screens in our lives/cars/homes. Phones, tablets, and computers are screens that are more difficult to limit or eliminate. So how do we make wise choices for our children and families regarding those screens?
As many know, I was one of the first people to hop on the iPad bandwagon, waiting atDaystarSchoolon that first Saturday of delivery back in 2010. I was anxious to get it and begin using it in the classroom, since then requesting two more for the Exploratorium kindergarten class. I definitely love gadgets (and screens). As a matter of fact, I had a hard time sitting down to write this blog because I am currently a bit obsessed with a new game on my iPad! I am convinced, though, that if we want to raise children who are more interested in people than in things, we must be diligent and deliberate about the amount of time they (and we) spend looking at screens instead of talking with people.
How do we do that? For starters, as a teacher I work hard to make sure that the screen (even an iPad one) is never the most exciting thing in my classroom. Fair enough, right, because it’s my job? But the tougher question for me is if I work equally hard at home to make sure that a screen is never the most exciting thing in the room. My kids love to play board games, tell stories, and talk about their day. Am I willing to take the tough step of limiting TV/computer/iPad/gaming/phone screens to make sure that I am more interesting/fun–even to my teenage children? Because all of our children really do want to spend time with us—even the teenagers—it’s easy to be more interesting than a screen. The question is whether or not we’re willing to take the time. I’m going to try. How about you?
