I really liked seeing data about other people's screen time practices, and it was good for me to see the real-life distance between the advice and reality.
My (5 year old) kid really loves youtube videos where someone restores old toys, or where hamsters do elaborate mazes; he likes old Winnie the Pooh cartoons and Gabby's Dollhouse. None of these ever end up on the recommended educational lists for TV! Sometimes our total screen time tends more towards an hour and a half, instead of under an hour, and I know that he sometimes gets TV at his pre-k. We usually co-watch, but sometimes I fall asleep or read while he watches an old favorite.
I say all this because reading parenting posts about screen time can make all that feel like I've done something wrong or unusual, even with all our precautions and boundaries -- it's nice to know that there is a wide variation out there, and that we're tending toward the more restrictive end of things. I agree that there are outside pressures -- life stress, financial stress, etc. -- that make it nigh-impossible for many parents to avoid screens.
My mother also always reminds me that there are plenty of kids from her and my generation that used to gulp down hours of TV, or watch a full movie every other night. There are kids who grow up loving (and making!) movies in part because they were given the opportunity to have that screen time. It's worth considering how much narrative engagement or learning the kid is doing from the screen time, I guess I'm saying, and to recognize that this isn't an ENTIRELY new thing.
Thank you for this discussion! I would love to see data related to neurodivergent use, as for some neurodiverse kids, regulating via technology is actually really helpful. I would be curious how other data lines up.
Really enjoyed this. Pacifying a kid by rewarding them with a screen is just not something I can get behind. It is SO much harder to talk/sooth/reason them down from their emotions, but emotional regulation is a high value life tool.
Thanks for presenting all this data without judgment. My oldest is autistic and when he’s not at school, or doing some sort of planned activity, he’s almost always on his iPad or playing video games. It’s also the only way we can get him to eat. This works for us and for him! I will say he’s not really zoning out on a screen. He’s talking to us about what he’s doing, and constantly stimming and running around. And he’s often reading NBA news or studying maps or something like that (in addition to all the typical stuff, like video games and watching tv). So…really depends on the kid and situation I think. Also, usually the minute we tell him he has to get off because it’s bed time or school or whatever, there’s zero argument. We’ve never used it as a reward or taken it away as a punishment.
For my youngest who LOVES to play and ALWAYS wants to play (mostly with me) the screen is a godsend. He doesn’t go on his iPad often but when he does, it’s the only time it’s quiet in my house. It doesn’t last long…ever… but when he’s into something even for a short while, I’m all for it. My peace matters too! And for that matter, it’s true that as a kid I watched a TON of TV. I still love tv and movies and am happy for my kids to love them too (hopefully good ones).
The area of screens I AM really nervous about is cell phones and social media. Luckily haven’t had to cross that bridge yet, but I can see how everything can unravel when a kid gets a phone and I’m hoping to hold out as long as possible. I find Jonathan Haidt’s norms helpful for giving a framework for that. It’s so hard navigating this stuff and I often resent having to figure it all out on top of all the regular parenting stuff.
Sorry for the mini essay… might have to turn this into an actual essay soon. 😂
You know, it's funny how different kids act differently towards screen time. If left to her own devices, my older kid would 100% never put down the screen. She would just stay there staring until age 87. But my younger kid will get bored after a little while, and start doing Lego or dolls or something, even if she has more time in her allotted screen time.
SO different, right? Good reminder that, while helpful, parenting advice and data doesn't always apply to your own unique kid. They all come with their own personalities and quirks!
Regarding the barbeque sauce videos, when my middle child was about 2.5 he wanted to know how bread was made. It was also the time I was weaning him. We spent a lot of nights when he was upset about not having milk watching ALL the videos about how bread is made 😆
Great study to discuss and some surprising and I think candid responses. I’m curious as a new reader to TS- is there actually strong evidence that Quality screen time is more important than quantity. I’m imagining scenarios in which parents tell me their child is watching 10+ hours of say pbs kids ( high quality I’m guessing) vs those who are in the average of many subtypes of screen time? Are family satisfaction, Mental Health or general health outcomes going to vary here?
Interesting data for sure! My son is a bit too young for us to have to navigate this yet (although our current goal is to stick to no screen time under 2!) but it's something my husband and I have discussed a lot. However I can't say I'm not looking forward to when we're able to look up things that he's curious about and engage his learning in that way!
Thank you so much, Jacqueline Nesi, for delving into this topic and presenting the data too!
It is a very important topic for many parents all over the world.
As far as I understand, screens of various kinds are not only affecting children due to their content, quick movement, etc but also due to BLUE light. Blue light is, unfortunately, not only damaging to the eye sight but to the brain.
As for cell phones, they do emit radiation, there are around 4 antenna that constantly are connnecting to cell towers, Wifi, bluetooth (if it is not turned off).
In my articles, I try to start a discussion about RESPONSIBLE use of technology.
Wifi in a house can predispose to radiation neigbors and children and pregnant women.
Wifi frequency is 2.5 billion vibrations per second where our brain is used to 8 Hz (the frequnecy of the Earth).
I would not recommend buying a cell phone children at all due to my research and understandinv of the technology. No smart watches either as it prediscposes them to high levels of radiation and reads data from them and sends to AI. We should really start getting into - how does a cell phone work? How does wifi work? need to understand this wireless technology ourselves before we push kids into it.
We should protect our children! Just like we protect them in many other ways.
I notice wiith my kids - if they have not watched TV for 2-3 days...they forgot about it completely and just play, play, play...,and get very creative.
Also - let them do Earthing every day! To detox from all of this radiation!
Wish you all the best!
Thank you again!
When TV is daily, at least for a few minutes, then they want more and more! And they think about it daily. The same goes for ipads and I am sure, cell phones, though mine are not using any.
I really liked seeing data about other people's screen time practices, and it was good for me to see the real-life distance between the advice and reality.
My (5 year old) kid really loves youtube videos where someone restores old toys, or where hamsters do elaborate mazes; he likes old Winnie the Pooh cartoons and Gabby's Dollhouse. None of these ever end up on the recommended educational lists for TV! Sometimes our total screen time tends more towards an hour and a half, instead of under an hour, and I know that he sometimes gets TV at his pre-k. We usually co-watch, but sometimes I fall asleep or read while he watches an old favorite.
I say all this because reading parenting posts about screen time can make all that feel like I've done something wrong or unusual, even with all our precautions and boundaries -- it's nice to know that there is a wide variation out there, and that we're tending toward the more restrictive end of things. I agree that there are outside pressures -- life stress, financial stress, etc. -- that make it nigh-impossible for many parents to avoid screens.
My mother also always reminds me that there are plenty of kids from her and my generation that used to gulp down hours of TV, or watch a full movie every other night. There are kids who grow up loving (and making!) movies in part because they were given the opportunity to have that screen time. It's worth considering how much narrative engagement or learning the kid is doing from the screen time, I guess I'm saying, and to recognize that this isn't an ENTIRELY new thing.
Thank you for this discussion! I would love to see data related to neurodivergent use, as for some neurodiverse kids, regulating via technology is actually really helpful. I would be curious how other data lines up.
Really enjoyed this. Pacifying a kid by rewarding them with a screen is just not something I can get behind. It is SO much harder to talk/sooth/reason them down from their emotions, but emotional regulation is a high value life tool.
Thanks for presenting all this data without judgment. My oldest is autistic and when he’s not at school, or doing some sort of planned activity, he’s almost always on his iPad or playing video games. It’s also the only way we can get him to eat. This works for us and for him! I will say he’s not really zoning out on a screen. He’s talking to us about what he’s doing, and constantly stimming and running around. And he’s often reading NBA news or studying maps or something like that (in addition to all the typical stuff, like video games and watching tv). So…really depends on the kid and situation I think. Also, usually the minute we tell him he has to get off because it’s bed time or school or whatever, there’s zero argument. We’ve never used it as a reward or taken it away as a punishment.
For my youngest who LOVES to play and ALWAYS wants to play (mostly with me) the screen is a godsend. He doesn’t go on his iPad often but when he does, it’s the only time it’s quiet in my house. It doesn’t last long…ever… but when he’s into something even for a short while, I’m all for it. My peace matters too! And for that matter, it’s true that as a kid I watched a TON of TV. I still love tv and movies and am happy for my kids to love them too (hopefully good ones).
The area of screens I AM really nervous about is cell phones and social media. Luckily haven’t had to cross that bridge yet, but I can see how everything can unravel when a kid gets a phone and I’m hoping to hold out as long as possible. I find Jonathan Haidt’s norms helpful for giving a framework for that. It’s so hard navigating this stuff and I often resent having to figure it all out on top of all the regular parenting stuff.
Sorry for the mini essay… might have to turn this into an actual essay soon. 😂
You know, it's funny how different kids act differently towards screen time. If left to her own devices, my older kid would 100% never put down the screen. She would just stay there staring until age 87. But my younger kid will get bored after a little while, and start doing Lego or dolls or something, even if she has more time in her allotted screen time.
SO different, right? Good reminder that, while helpful, parenting advice and data doesn't always apply to your own unique kid. They all come with their own personalities and quirks!
Regarding the barbeque sauce videos, when my middle child was about 2.5 he wanted to know how bread was made. It was also the time I was weaning him. We spent a lot of nights when he was upset about not having milk watching ALL the videos about how bread is made 😆
Great study to discuss and some surprising and I think candid responses. I’m curious as a new reader to TS- is there actually strong evidence that Quality screen time is more important than quantity. I’m imagining scenarios in which parents tell me their child is watching 10+ hours of say pbs kids ( high quality I’m guessing) vs those who are in the average of many subtypes of screen time? Are family satisfaction, Mental Health or general health outcomes going to vary here?
Interesting data for sure! My son is a bit too young for us to have to navigate this yet (although our current goal is to stick to no screen time under 2!) but it's something my husband and I have discussed a lot. However I can't say I'm not looking forward to when we're able to look up things that he's curious about and engage his learning in that way!
Thank you so much, Jacqueline Nesi, for delving into this topic and presenting the data too!
It is a very important topic for many parents all over the world.
As far as I understand, screens of various kinds are not only affecting children due to their content, quick movement, etc but also due to BLUE light. Blue light is, unfortunately, not only damaging to the eye sight but to the brain.
I have written an article about it:
https://dontdespairwegotit.substack.com/p/stupid-blue-light
it affects the dopamine center, their growth.
As for cell phones, they do emit radiation, there are around 4 antenna that constantly are connnecting to cell towers, Wifi, bluetooth (if it is not turned off).
here is an article about it:
https://dontdespairwegotit.substack.com/p/wireless-radiation
https://dontdespairwegotit.substack.com/p/the-world-through-the-eyes-of-a-child
In my articles, I try to start a discussion about RESPONSIBLE use of technology.
Wifi in a house can predispose to radiation neigbors and children and pregnant women.
Wifi frequency is 2.5 billion vibrations per second where our brain is used to 8 Hz (the frequnecy of the Earth).
I would not recommend buying a cell phone children at all due to my research and understandinv of the technology. No smart watches either as it prediscposes them to high levels of radiation and reads data from them and sends to AI. We should really start getting into - how does a cell phone work? How does wifi work? need to understand this wireless technology ourselves before we push kids into it.
We should protect our children! Just like we protect them in many other ways.
I notice wiith my kids - if they have not watched TV for 2-3 days...they forgot about it completely and just play, play, play...,and get very creative.
Also - let them do Earthing every day! To detox from all of this radiation!
Wish you all the best!
Thank you again!
When TV is daily, at least for a few minutes, then they want more and more! And they think about it daily. The same goes for ipads and I am sure, cell phones, though mine are not using any.