Fourteen years ago the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement addressing children’s screen time that created a media hubbub. The statement was weak and ineffective. The ruckus was in grand disproportion to the Academy’s ho-hum recommendation that parents “avoid television for children under the age of two years.” It generated no positive results. Screen time for all children continues to increase. Parents still consider the television a member of the family. Mobile apps are every parent’s new best friend.
© MariaMontessori.com
Parents now assume screen time is an important element in early childhood development. Only 14% of parents remember their pediatricians giving any advice about media use, despite the Academy’s 2011 reassertion of their policy. Pediatricians know parents quit listening to that message more than a decade ago. Our best educators worry about the influence of unregulated technology use on the growth of young minds, wonder at the obvious but under-reported connections between screen time and the deterioration of attention. They know they cannot hold the attention of children raised on two-second sound bites.
Children spend an average of five to seven hours every day in front of a screen. The only activity that occupies more time for children is sleeping. These same young kids are experiencing speech and language delays, and chronic attention problems. Literacy is becoming increasingly hard to achieve, creativity rare. Though there is little research to establish connections between so many young children’s failure to thrive and their over-exposure to technologies, the conclusion that screen time is corroding young minds seems ridiculously obvious to most teachers.
The AAP’s most recent research indicates that a shocking 90% of children younger than two watch some form of electronic media. By age three, one third of these kids have televisions in their bedrooms. Modern parents consider one of the most unpredictably dangerous influences on the lives of young children to be a peacekeeper, a “safe” activity for their children.
Well-educated, upwardly mobile parents fancy educational technology for kids. Lower income families use the television as a babysitter. The New York Times calls this the “app gap.” The Times points out that both sets of parents are thumbing their noses at the AAP, relying on screens to occupy their children.
The Mayo Clinic’s available information for parents acknowledges a lack of definitive research, but links too much screen time to behavioral problems, irregular sleep, poor academic performance and, most convincingly, obesity. Most major public health organizations have described obesity in epidemic terms. Screen time is obviously not the only cause of obesity, but experts consider it a primary gateway to things like soda pop, sedentary lifestyles and high-fat snack foods.
The effects of screen time on the health of families are easy to visualize. They are All American images: An overweight family gathered around the television, eating separate, high-fat meals, sharing two-liter bottles of soda. Young children eating finger-foods in their car seats, mesmerized by the screens attached to their parents’ head rests. Bug-eyed youngsters passing time on iPads and cell phones loaded with mobile apps.
The AAP, the National Institute of Health and the Mayo Clinic urge parents to limit and plan screen time, and strongly discourage allowing children to eat in front of a screen. Do not allow children to have televisions or computers in their bedrooms, they say. Do not leave the television on throughout the day. Make choices. Plan outdoor activities. Turn the television off for a day. Though teachers know parents are not following the AAP guidelines, they know less screen time for longer would build a healthier child.
A paltry 10% of parents follow the AAP guidelines. There are apps available for kids so young they are more inclined to chew the cell phone. Fishing poles and family meals are Norman Rockwell, retro visions of a time that may be forever gone. The thought of commuting or eating or falling asleep without a screen makes most parents shudder.
Teachers do not have spare time and money to sponsor research. Studies into the effects of screen time on children will probably always be poorly funded and inherently limited in scope and value. Even the best studies cannot compare a mature adult with the person she might have become, had she enjoyed a different upbringing. When a child is diagnosed with hyperactivity or an attention deficit, parents can get a prescription with relative ease. But they cannot get a do-over. When an adolescent commits an act of violence, it’s too late to turn off the video games.
Good parenting has never been easy. Bad parenting has never been easier. Screen time seems like a safe, peaceful, educational way for parents to entertain their children. Teachers of every age group know we will have to change our approaches to remain relevant and keep kids engaged in learning. Good teachers of the world will continue to dream of every child reaching his or her potential. Good parents of the world will dream too, resisting, adjusting and adapting to protect our children from the influences most of the world has accepted without question.
Jennifer Rogers has been a primary teacher for 20 years, the last 10 at Countryside Montessori School in Northbrook, Illinois. She completed AMI primary training in Atlanta, Georgia and AMI Assistants to Infancy in Denver, Colorado.
Mrs. Rogers has a bachelors degree in religious studies and English from Albion College and a Master of Theological Studies from Candler Seminary at Emory University. A mother of three children growing up in Montessori classrooms, Mrs. Rogers lives with her family in Northbrook.
I’ve been ambivalent towards the idea of screen watching if for no other reason than I grew up on television and video games. Part of me is the guy who’s smoked for 20 years and can say there’s nothing wrong with him from the experience, but the other part of me sees that at best I am an exception and at worst I am simply not realizing what aspects of my life could be better. I am skinny (though not healthy or particularly active) and I did well, though not amazing, in school.
As a teacher and a soon to be Montessori guide-in-training, I find myself wincing at choices my parents and I likely made when I was a kid when I interact with or observe children. Students will go into long, detailed descriptions of the latest game they’ve played (sometimes MATURE games), the latest app on their parents’ phone, or the latest episode of a show they watch regularly, but will have quite lackluster descriptions of real events in their life. Or a kid in the grocery store will be sitting in the cart playing Angry Birds instead of helping their parents with the groceries or even watching what their parents are doing.
I think other things that my parents did mediated some of the negative effects of television and video games, but in retrospect I wonder if the things that are well in my life could be any better if I had less television and video games as a child.
Well said – thanks for writing.
I recently had a discussion with a friend who had decided she would only allow her toddler to watch “educational programming” on TV. Parents have been fooled into thinking that TV can be an easy and effortless way to educate their children; they don’t want to understand that the negative effects of TV are the same regardless of whether a child is watching a documentary on quantum physics or watching Spongebob. And let’s not even get into the increase in aggressive behavior that comes after children watch so-called “children’s programming”: research now shows that the children only remember and imitate the characters’ negative behaviors, and not what was done at the end of the episode to solve the “problem” in the plot.
In a classroom of 24 pre-school children, I had two students – TWO – who had not been exposed to television. The difference was astronomical. I, for one, am keeping my child away from TV and video games for as long as I possibly can. We don’t have a TV at home and will keep it that way for the rest of our lives. iPads and computers are only used while the child is asleep, and cell phones are solely for making phone calls while he is present. If I – a working mom – can do it, then so can everyone else.
Thank you for this hard-hitting article. I fear that it will fall on deaf ears among those who need to hear the message most, but perhaps it will shake up more than one family to try to make a change. Any change is better than what we have now…
I think the problem has been simplified too much. We live in an extremely competitive and aggressive, economic growth driven society. In this society stress and fatigue are causes for so many health problems, but they are also the cause of lengthy tv time for children. It is quite naive to describe people as good and bad parents. Parents must work often are doing the best they can by their children. It is unfair to call them bad parents. I had days where all I could do when I got home was turn on the television, give my son toys, and go to sleep hoping for the best. He was sick. He wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t sleeping. There were nights I didn’t get thirty minutes in a row.
I have two degrees and am working on my third. I am perfectly aware of the pediatricians’ recommendations. I ended up getting fired from my job, being told my performance was more than adequate but the tardy policy was such that my boss had no choice.
Now I am at home with my son and he doesn’t watch nearly as much television, but it is easier to pass judgement and feel strongly about something when you are not in a pressing situation.
I forgot to mention that I am a teacher and I have never had a problem engaging my impoverished and lower middle class, at-risk students in the lessons I prepare. Part of engaging them is getting to know them and listening to them.
Thank you for this article. Both of my boys (4 and 2) attend montessori – and BOTH boys behave a TON better when we turn off the TV regularly. Neither boy is prone to aggression – but the whining goes up significantly and the ability to entertain themselves goes down significantly when they watch TV on a regular basis.
I don’t think we can say all screen time is bad. And to state that all children who spend time in front of a screen are not able to focus is absurd. We use the computer for education and physical activities too. In fact, since this is on a Montessori sight I will use a Montessori example. We have both the official Montessori maps that I spent and insane amount of money on at discount and a FREE interactive map puzzle program online. Both require my children to focus and complete the same activity, one is just on a screen instead of a huge space taker. Not to mention my children typically spend more time on the online version because it clears itself at the end, plus has the name of the country on display with the shape. Something that is not part of the Montessori traditional. Having read many of Maria’s writings, I think she would have embraced technology, not scuffed at it. The fact is Maria lived before such things were imaginable, so we will not know her opinion. However, it amazes me how many Montessori instructors are against apps. I can only think that it is because if parents have access to this they may not need the schools and thus the educators lose the niche. I, however, would encourage it as an extension of the classroom at home siting the importance of presentation at school.
This article was very interesting and insightful, thank you. My daughter is 11 and has been in Montessori since age 3. We don’t have TV service at home, but we have a lot of screens: flat screen (hooked up to computer, Wii & DVD), desktop computer, laptop computer, and iPod Touch. Smart phone, but no iPhones. No iPads or eReaders. Our daughter has an old clam shell phone for emergencies. She is an only child in the house and on our street. She does after school activities 3 days a week. She is an excellent student, well liked by her teachers & peers. As long as she meets her responsibilities (homework, bedroom upkeep, help with meals, personal hygiene, etc.) we do not limit her screen time. She loves to watch old TV shows that have no commercials. She loves the Food Network and will often watch that while playing Webkins or similar online. I struggle with this topic because she spends more time doing this than I would prefer, but also part of me doesn’t know how much technology will play into her adult life & career. Maybe she’ll become a cook or a game developer. Perhaps a sitcom or movie writer, director or actress. Maybe she’ll be a musician since she just taught herself how to use GarageBand. This technology issue is not black and white, good or bad. It can be done well, yet imperfectly. My main concern is that my daughter is not hypnotized & persuaded by commercials. Old TV shows on Netflix play straight through (attention span w/o commercial interruptions) and she doesn’t pine for the latest toy, gadget or food. She used to watch Netflix on the flatscreen in the living room next to the kitchen where she’d think about snacking more often even while we had the living set up with swing, hammock, mini tramp & we’d allow her to use the old sofa like gym equipment. She moved and she snacked. Since getting the laptop, she is allowed to watch in her room, but no food is allowed there. She has slimmed down with the reduced snacking though obesity was never a real concern. She loves to listen to music on her iPod Touch and play games while listening. It’s a complex world. We love Montessori and the foundation it is providing for her, yet at the same time I feel it’s important to be realistic about the technological future she’ll be walking into and I’d like to think that her time spent with technology, while not interfering with her academics or responsibilities, is giving her an early preparation for a passion that may turn into a career or aspect of a career. I think to severely restrict her screen time would be to restrict her future potential self. It’s tough as a parent to know how much is too little, just enough or too much aside from measures in sleep, behavior, activity, academics, and responsibilities. If these are being met, why limit screen time? There have been some very interesting videos issued lately:
Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud: http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html
Future Learning Short Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qC_T9ePzANg#!
What Most Schools Don’t Teach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKIu9yen5nc
Thank you for letting me share my thoughts here. Best, Carla.
I agree mostly with what you are saying. But I have been pondering one thing. What is the difference between me sitting and reading a book to a group of children and playing a video of that exact same reading?
My wife (the author of this piece) and I both strongly favor limiting screen time and internet access for our kids, even though to hear the kids tell it, we are crippling them socially. We discuss this regularly, constantly re-evaluating and fine-tuning our approach. Standing firm has been the most challenging part of parenting so far. So I feel everyone’s pain on this.
But here’s another thought on the issue:
Artists have negative space. Musicians have rests (and I suppose they enjoy silence). Writers get writers block. Ministers take sabbaticals…. The other night our 11-year-old said he was lonely and bored. I rejoiced. I told him the most creative ideas are born out of boredom. I told him we all need to learn how to be alone, and how to deal with boredom. Otherwise we’re not prepared for reality. And we won’t be listening when a real original idea comes to us. OK, I wasn’t so eloquent, but that was the gist of it.
What if kids have unfettered access to eye-catching, noise-making, fact-spewing devices all the time? Even if you don’t consider this voluntary enslavement, you must admit that it blocks out a child’s inner voice. Not to mention the advertising and insidious marketing that’s ever present.
Check out Sherry Turkle from MIT (“On Being” podcast Nov. 15, 2012). She has a great perspective on how technology is affecting us, and how children benefit from solitude and loneliness. Yes, loneliness.
I am a huge proponent of montessori education. My daughter is a beneficiary of such as a pre-schooler. That said…
To the author:
Please, please, please be careful in your words that clearly seem to insinuate poor parenting (e.g. allowing too much screen time) is a cause of AD/HD. Yes, I know you did not explicitly name AD/HD, but the following statement screams the the false blame: “When a child is diagnosed with hyperactivity or an attention deficit, parents can get a prescription with relative ease. But they cannot get a do-over.”
There is vast scientific evidence that parenting (or lack thereof) is not a cause for the very-real developmental disorder that is AD/HD. Please reign in your accusations for both the parents that have not caused such disorders and the children that have no choice in being AD/HD – or not.
Even more so, please refrain from directly following the above quoted text with, “When an adolescent commits an act of violence, it’s too late to turn off the video games.” This, to me, unfairly suggests to the casual reader that the AD/HD child and/or, later, adult are more prone to some of the violence that we all rightly vilify.
I really liked this article and the recommendations contained within, but am saddened by the non-scientific, thinly-veiled references to the AD/HD population. I can only hope readers are educated enough to know the fine distinctions.
Sorry if I’m overly sensitive, but there need not be undue prejudice against some of our more challenged children – and their uniquely challenged parents.
I really love this article. I run a kindergarten school and I have observed that children these days are so addicted to television and computers. They are not interested in holding a crayon or a pencil but rather interested in watching tv and playing games on the computer or mobile phones. I think all parents should read this article as it is an eyeopener. I have some children in my school who are already 4 years of age but cannot talk properly and these are the children who (according to their parents) are glued to the television sets and computers. I think the screen time issue is very important and parents should be informed or educated about its consequences.
Greater minds than mind have struggled to defend a position of moderation. Carefully considered, middle-of-the-road statements like my article inadvertently offend people who are slightly to the right or left, or living with very difficult extremes.
Putting aside the morass of specific issues of technology and its uses, three threats loom large for parents and children of this generation: anonymity, exposure and isolation.
Healthy human development always involves limits first established by parents and teachers. These limits later become part of a person’s ability to self-regulate, to define herself as a person who makes decisions in accordance with her beliefs.
Anonymity in communication and relationship almost always stems from fear and insecurity. Friendship and love are physical realities. All people, young children especially,need to touch and to be touched. Play for young children should involve another person, most of the time.
Maria Montessori would almost certainly have embraced technology, as most modern parents and teachers do. We cannot be certain, but it seems likely she would also have insisted on age-appropriate limits and boundaries for its use. She would insist that young children remain connected to reality, active in the natural world, in conversation with their parents,siblings and friends at school.
My good fortune this past week was to observe what having 24 hours of no screen time does to kids. They talk, laugh and communicate and engage in what seems to me normal activities.
We had an overnight trip with the school and the kids worked it out. No fights, pleasant interaction all without cell pones, ipads, tv etc. In a world full of electronic distractions I think it is never too late to pull the plug and have kids just interact with one another in the right setting.
Maybe simply setting clear boundaries and preparing the home environment for interaction is possible especially for Montessori kids. I have seen it and suspect it is something easily repeated given the choice kids will play sans screens it is just what kids do.
What a great article! I am truly inspired!
Unfortunately, too many unenlightened people seem to have a voice in this debate. Any reasonable person who stops and thinks, then carefully observes children with and without screen time, will arrive at the conclusion that these things are totally inappropriate for young children. They offer the toxic combination of high appeal and high engagement with no real learning. Plus they are too easy for parents.
Putting aside all of the negative “de-enrichment” that could come from them (illogical messages, second-rate educational content, exposure to violence, advertising messages, etc.), realize that any time spent in front of a screen is time NOT spent developing fine motor skills, exercising, developing speech and conversation skills, creating things, building, exploring the physical world, etc. THOSE activities, by the way, have endless research showing developmental benefits.
I am a software developer and a hardcore technophile. I love technology, and way more than most people. But my 4.5 yo daughter and 1.5 yo son have no devices and no screen time (and never did). The difference between them and other kids (even among fellow Montessori students with high-IQ parents) is plain obvious. Their verbal skills, dexterity, creativity, impulse control, behavior are off the charts compared to other kids we know, except for one family of two sisters that also have no screen time!
My daughter is now almost a proficient reader. A year from now, she should be very good, and at that point I plan on introducing her to the computer. I want her to master the machine, to think like an engineer, like a builder. That will be the purpose of her “screen time,” and she will probably love it.
Parents who think that giving a kid an iPad will somehow prepare them for the workforce of the future are deluding themselves. I know 8 yo kids who can’t even use all of the features on an iPad because all they do is play stupid games all day! The workforce of the future needs amazing thinkers with leadership and collaboration and problem-solving skills, not mush-brained zombies whose parents frittered away their childhood on an iPad!
While I’m on a rant, I have to ask why so many well-educated parents give there kids so much refined sugar, processed foods, and virtually no plants to eat.
Honestly, this stuff is so freaking obvious to me, it’s almost not even worth arguing. We are going to pay a HUGE price as a society, as the next generation of kids will have poor nutrition, poor health and severely diminished verbal skills, attention span, creativity, abstract thinking, etc. Keep justifying the screen time at your own peril.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/the-touch-screen-generation/309250/
Fascinating article, Don. Thanks for the link.
Interesting that an author of this article would use so many similar images, obviously referenced some of the same sources I did . . .and reached different conclusions.
Respectfully, I disagree.
How great to see this discussion! It’s a topic we have reflected on a lot at our schools. Technology per se isn’t evil, just like sugar or alcohol or caffein isn’t evil. It’s a matter of proper use, of setting limits, of not defaulting to the screen for lack of better ideas.
One thing we’ve found helps many parents avoid screen time is providing them with additional ideas on what they can do instead with their children, especially during challenging situations, such as long-distance travel. Here’s a link to a blog post with no-screen ideas on engaging children while travelling:
http://www.leportschools.com/blog/summer-travel-should-you-app-it-part-1/
My two children (ages four and six) very rarely get to use apps or watch TV. They love to make up their own games, and need very little to keep themselves entertained, even during longer car rides. That said, my 6-year-old does get to use my Kindle or iPhone for specific educational activities, such as practicing math facts, or Chinese characters (she attends a Chinese immersion Montessori elementary program.) We also have family movie night maybe once or twice a month. I agree that Dr. Montessori would very much have embraced technology – as one more tool in a carefully designed environment, with proper limits and introduced at an appropriate age (which will be much older than two!)
Don above mentioned Hannah Rosin’s piece in the Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/the-touch-screen-generation/309250/), where she acknowledges that the AAP is behind the curve on this, but also makes the grim claim that the ship has sailed.
Certainly the technology is only going to get more engaging, and we will need to have solid science on our side to keep making the case. There’s a piece of it in this from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/opinion/sunday/your-phone-vs-your-heart.html. (Both of these are linked on my new blog, http://montessoriobserver.com)
Super post, but want to agree with the comments about how this really has to do with the amount of technology and at what time it is introduced.
This is for example one of the sadest videos I`ve seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk
An enlightening discussion. My mom is a headmistress and I teach toddlers. Personally I think that a little screen time is okay – monitored and controlled by mommy that is!
I let my little one of 2 watch one show of dora or mickey a day in the early morning when she wakes. Other then that TV is a no-no! She is also allowed once or twice a week to use a few ipad apps that are age appropriate – toddler flash cards and counting for a maximum of 15 minutes.
I monitor this very closely as I am very aware of the effect of too much TV on the toddlers I teach. But i do think its important for her to learn about technology.
The debate is difficult in that many parents feel the have no option they want to give their children the best but have no idea what the best is or how to implement and monitor the use of technology.
But most importantly I worry about discipline – I have found that children that are allowed uninhibited screen time are less inclined to listen and partake in activities; and what type of adults will they turn out to be?
To address various comments from above:
Difference between books and apps – books require imagination; apps/video-games do not.
Difference between apps and real-life items – touching real life shapes, textures, temperatures, weights… being connected to the material world around us in a healthy way. CONNECTION.
Difference between technology now and technology of the future – if we are TRULY teaching our children how to LEARN, they will be able to pick up any technology in the future and learn it. The technology of today is NOT the technology of the future. All the computer skills I learned in elementary (yes, I am young enough to have had computers IN my elementary classrooms) – are obsolete. It means nothing to me. Even power buttons don’t work the same! And touch screens! Oh my! You touch those screens back then, you got sent to the hall! It’s a different world, and it will different for our children too.
They need to know how to LEARN. How to CONNECT. How to FOCUS.
For children under age 6 – NO screen time is necessary – at all. NOT NECESSARY.
Over age 6 – the biggest problem between those who use technology as a tool and those who who is it in way that causes ADHD and other issues… is just that: tool vs. end-goal.
Children who “earn” screen-time use it as an end-goal. An end in itself. I could write a series of articles on the problems inherent to this sort of extrinsic reward system (whether intentionally a reward system or just a reward system in practice).
Children who use technology as a tool, have other tools available to them, and technology is in its proper place.
My long experience confirms the points made in Jennifer’s article. For more creative, fully engaged, resourceful and for healthier and happier children, keep the marvels of screens, the wonders of social media and the joys of wine for adults. We can do it, yes we can. And we won’t look back with regret. And techno-deprived children become techno whizzes as adults. If our children or we are sick, we especially need to spare ourselves the drain and drone of mind- and energy-sapping screens.
What Montessori tells us is that MOVEMENT is the primary facilitator of overall development.
What do screens limit?
Seems like a pointless argument. But people are lazy & have no time to engage their children in the world around them.
Furthermore, it’s pointless to argue what Maria Montessori would or would not have endorsed.
She’s dead.
But science, & her research & findings, are still here. And just as mainstream science catches up, we Montessorians look like idiots when we question screen time of any kind.
We know the answer. There is no discussion. There are only excuses.