How screen time can help learning: children & pre-teens
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Growing up digital
Your kid is growing up fluent in the language of technology and they are probably very good at navigating their way around a multitude of devices. As screens are not going away, it is helpful to harness the positives and leverage screen time to support your child’s learning. It takes a bit of planning but when used in a balanced manner, digital technology can support the development of new skills and provide learning benefits.
The concept of learning is not restricted to traditional school subjects but includes a broad range of skills and outcomes from opening up creative outlets to improving social skills to developing healthy habits. While it is important that screens do not replace face-to-face interactions the goal is to find content that supports learning and behavior.
How much screen time?
Electronic devices receive daily useage for the vast majority of children who grow up using screens for viewing and game play. But does every age range benefit from using devices and how much time should they spend on their screens?
Research suggests that the youngest children do not learn well from screens. Those aged under 2 struggle as they don’t possess the conceptual ability to grasp the content. As kids age they can gain meaningful information. Those aged 3-5 can learn from slow-paced and meaningfully designed material. Older children can process content at a faster pace as relevance and conceptual understanding grows.
However, parents and carers need to develop a balanced approach to how much time their kid spends on a screen. A recent Singaporean study showed that 90% of children aged 18-24 months engaged in passive daily viewing without parental interaction leading to language delays and attention deficit. And a study by the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media found that in the USA 8-12 yearolds spend an average of 4 hours and 44 minutes on devices. So, how much time should your child spend on screens? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends:
Until 18 months of age limit screen use to video chatting along with an adult (for example, with a parent who is out of town).
Between 18 and 24 months screen time should be limited to watching educational programming with a caregiver.
For children 2-5, limit non-educational screen time to about 1 hour per weekday and 3 hours on the weekend days.
For ages 6 and older, encourage healthy habits and limit activities that include screens.
Finding the right balance
Not all screen time is created equal, content matters. What is your kid watching? What games are they playing? Consuming digital content that benefits your child’s development and wellbeing requires deliberate and mindful consideration.
Age-appropriate
This may seem like common sense but it’s actually not quite so simple. Content can be designed to appeal to a wide age range and therefore may not meet your sense of what is appropriate for your child. If the age range states suitablity for 6-9 years-of-age you may wonder if what is suitable for a 9 year-old would be appropriate for your 6 year-old. How do you know if content is age-appropriate? There are a few things you can consider:
Use reviews and ratings to guide your child’s choices. Does the suggested age-range match your child’s age? For television shows a national classification system is usually in place designating a classification such as PG. For apps or games do keep in mind that reviews are often written by consumers rather than experts so they may only be helpful up to a point.
Try out apps or games before your kid uses them.
Dig a little deeper if you discover a game or app features advertising as this may indicate it was designed to promote a product rather than enhance learning.
Encourage your kid to watch programs you are familiar with.
Quality matters
A child can get a lot of benefit out of an app, game or show that promotes critical thinking skills, sparks their imagination or demonstrates positive behavior but how do you choose quality content? When you are selecting content or your child wishes to access a particular piece of digital content try running through this checklist:
Reflects your family values
Is respectful of others
Delivers positive messages that promote social and mental wellbeing
Delivers positive messages about gender and diversity
Sparks your child’s interest
Gives them an opportunity to learn something new by building knowledge or skills or exploring the wider world
Enhances something they are already interested in or doing, for example how to improve their basketball game, find a new craft acitivity or find out how to code at the next level
Sparks their curiosity and has them asking questions or seeking more information
Develops new ideas that translate offline for example when Minecraft can inspire designing buildings with lego
Encourages planning, goal setting, strategy, or problem-solving
Purpose
Consider if the activity is enhancing your child’s learning. It may be useful to do math drills online but an activity such as reading can be done offline and this may be more more beneficial.
Parental or carer involvment
Parents and carers have a lot on their plate. It’s a busy world and it is tiring. Devices can be used because we need a break, or maybe we have to focus our attention somewhere else. There is no judement on using screens when needed. But parental or carer involvement is an important step in understanding whether the material your child is viewing is quality content. It would be impractical to suggest you join your child every time they use their screens but one thing you may consider is a process called schaffolding. It’s a process of watching the first few shows or view app or game useage for a few times to gain insight into the content and the postential benefits to be gained. Also, consider joining your child from time-to-time and connecting with them through their screen activity.
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Benefits of digital technology
Social skills
Face-to—face interactions are essential for social development, however, games and apps can enhance social skills. Board games often rely on the ability of players to take turns, and online games can do the same. When team play is involved, your kid has to learn how to operate in a team environment and think about what is best for the team overall.
Problem-solving and critical thinking skills
Kids often have to plan strategies or engage in experimentation if they are to overcome obstacles and achieve a certain outcome when playing games or using apps. Consider games that require them to work out how much of a particular item is needed, or what is the best tool to use. A good example is coding, it takes planning and experimentation to produce workable code.
Critical thinking skills
Digital content that requires your child to analyse, interpret, evaluate, and make a judgement about information, processes or outcomes are great for building critical thinking skills. Consider content that encourages your kid to ask questions, predict a pattern or maybe form an hypothesis, ‘If I do this, I think this will happen.’ Each time your child has to evaluate information and make a decision they exercise critical thinking skills.
Creative skills
Digital content can encourage creativity. There are many drawing, animation or design apps and games (even Minecraft) that encourage your child to let their creativity and imagination flow. While physical craft, design or art projects are wonderful activities, digital content can enhance creativity and artisitic skills.
Digital skills
As the school system increases technology use your kid will benefit from building their own digital skills. They may need to edit a video from a school excursion, create a presentation for class or complete their homeowork online. Testing out those skills at home helps them build the knowledge and confidence needed in the classroom.
Goal setting skills
Knowing how to define a goal and then considering the steps needed to achieve it is a worthy skill. Your child might watch a show that explains how someone achieved their own goals, such as becoming an engineer or dancer. They may follow an app that teaches them a second language. Learning how to track progress, persist or make adjustments when necessary will serve them well.
Digital tools for learning and development
Documentaries or educational videos or shows
These can allow your child to discover people, places and concepts they didn’t even know existed. Think of the new cultures, topics and ideas they can explore to broaden their minds, expand their curiosity and build their knowledge.
Digital and e-books
These can support a reluctant reader or open up an expansive library for developing reader. E-books may even include interactive features that make the experience great fun and can really foster a love of reading.
Interactive learning platforms
You can target platforms that are age appropriate, support your kid’s classroom learning or match their interests. These platforms are knowledge based and can offer progressive-skill building activities that adapt to your child’s pace.
Educational apps and games
They sneak in learning while keeping things fun and interesting. Look for content that fosters knowledge or challenges problem-solving or critical thinking skills.
Family technology plan
Creating a family technology plan sets out the guidelines and rules as agreed by the family around digital technology useage. Moreover it supports you as you educate your child about the importance of online safety. Keep in mind, children don’t have the life experience of adults and it is not going to be easy for them to recognise activity that is potentially harmful. Therefore, it is important that you actively support them in learning cyber safety.
The final word
Screens are here to stay. We are right be considerate about useage but also consider how best to harness digital technology to benefit your child. By selecting age-appropriate and quality content you have the opportunity to use screen time in a positive way.
If you would like more information about safety, tips for handling screen time across the ages or ratings and reviews of books, movies, games and apps, take a look at Common Sense Media.