Tablets for Tots?

Its 5 o’clock, you just got home after a long day’s work and picking up your 1- and 3-year-olds from daycare. There are dishes to be done, dinner to be made and your children are pulling at your legs and screaming. Then it lights up like a beacon of hope:  The tablet computer bursting with fun-filled learning apps practically speaks out to you as the answer to all the madness. You hand it over to the screaming children and, with a small window of time, you can load up the dishwasher and get the chicken in the oven… ahh, success.

The use of technology to entertain, teach and socialize is now a norm in society; it impacts all ages from babies to the elderly. And like anything else that integrates into society so deeply, it comes with new terms and research. One term mentioned often in the discussion of technology use and children is screen time, popping up with the  increased usage of computers, televisions, internet phones, tablets and other technological devices.

Screen time describes the total amount of time a child is exposed to any device with a screen. And in the research, screen time allowance and its implications are debated. The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity and the American Academy of Pediatrics report that screen time should be limited to 2 hours maximum for children ages 2-5 and none for children under the age of 2.

A January 2012 statement from the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College (http://www.NAEYC.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSTECH98.PDF) highlights the importance of screen time limits. The statement outlines screen time’s negative impacts, including irregular sleep patterns, behavior issues, difficulty with focus and attention, decreased academic performance, and negative influence on socialization and language development. It also emphasizes that balance is important, and the devices themselves are not harmful. Rather, they can be helpful with learning and development when used intentionally.

Meredith Bushatz, Kansas City-area mother of two preschoolers, is a fan of learning apps for her 3-year-old, but at the same time respects their limitations. “My girls like using the apps on our tablet and phones, and the devices are nice for entertaining and helping to educate them with numbers, colors and the alphabet,” she says. “But I don’t see them as a substitute for our time with them, and I do worry that their ability to switch on their own so quickly from one app to another can impact their ability to sustain attention on one task for an extended period of time.”

As in almost anything, finding balance and monitoring use well can allow the devices to be powerful tools for learning. And balance is important, especially with young children.

“Children under the age of 6 are primarily sensory learners. They learn best in three dimensions,” says Aimee Alderman-Oler, Center School District Parents as Teachers director. “A young child needs to hold a cube and turn it in his hands to understand it’s a cube. In addition, vision skills develop in the first two years of life making it essential for children to be exposed to many 3D objects to increase their visual understanding of the world.”

While it is important for children to be exposed to the 3D world, devices with apps can be useful in exciting kids to learn numbers, colors and the alphabet while giving parents time to take care of important tasks around the house or with business. “Devices are great for when I need to get something done and all the kids want to do is hang on me, but I don’t consider them a replacement for cuddling up together to read a book,” says Bushatz.

Alderman-Oler agrees. “Early literacy skills set the foundations for lifelong reading skills, communication skills and success, and the loving lap of a primary caretaker is important for establishing these early literacy skills.”

Technology is not going away, and the future of our society is imbedded in technological devices. Children need to know their way around these tools. However, in early learning and development, these tools should be used with balance and under the supervision of educators and parents.

Karah Thornton is a school psychologist in the Kansas City area. She encourages a healthy balance in the iWorld.