On Tuesday October 18th the American Academy of Pediatrics released an updated policy statement for “Media Use by Children Younger Than Two Years”. This post is intended as a resource for parents interested in their findings, along with my own summary of comments in the report I think are valuable.
Link to: Full text of updated report
Link to: Press release summarizing the report
Link to: YouTube of the press conference discussing the report (thanks 360Kid)
The report addresses whether video and televised programs have any educational value for children under two, and if there is any harm in such children watching these programs. The report did not cover specific interactive media like iPads and tablets. By the time long-term research is complete on interactive media, our children will be grown. Families need to move forward based on the information we have now, and determine what’s relevant.
Why is the age of two important in this conversation? (Note, if I’m using quotes, I’m quoting the report.) “To be beneficial, children need to understand the content of programs and pay attention to it. Children older than two years and those younger than two years are at different levels of cognitive development and process information differently.”
Notable topics in the report:
Talk Time – “Infant vocabulary growth is directly related to the amount of talk time, or the amount of time parents spend speaking to them. Heavy television use in a household can interfere with a child’s language development simply because parents likely spend less time talking to the child.”
Set Limits – “If parents choose to engage their young children with electronic media, they should have concrete strategies to manage it. Ideally, parents should review the content of what their child is watching and watch the program with their child.”
Parent’s Use of Media – “Parents need to realize that their own media use can have a negative effect on their children. Television that is intended for adults and is on with a young child in the room is distracting for both the parent and the child.”
Being Read To – “Families should be strongly encouraged to sit down and read to their child to foster their child’s cognitive and language development.”
Independent Play – “Unstructured playtime is more valuable for the developing brain than any electronic media exposure…Even for infants as young as 4 months of age, solo play allows a child to think creatively, problem solve, and accomplish tasks…” According to Dr. Brown, “Children need this in order to figure out how the world works.” (This quote is from the press release.)
During minute 23 of the press conference on the youtube address, Dr. Brown emphasizes that parents should thoughtfully consider media use. To me, this means that before presenting media to our kids, we think about the trade-offs and reasons for our actions. Why are we using media? What else could/should we be doing with our time? Is media helping us accomplish a goal, or is it undermining a goal? If we think about why we choose media, maybe we’ll have more confidence when we do choose media.
Do I dare extrapolate, and relate these topics to APPS? Of course!
Talk Time – Find apps that encourage conversation! Which apps ask you questions, enable you to record your voice, or omit sound effects so you can provide your own “vroom vroooms”?
Set Limits – In the report they mentioned parents have TVs in children’s bedrooms, and that this tends to disrupt sleep patterns. If TV disrupts sleep patterns, mobile touchscreens probably do the same thing. Limits on media, regardless of device, feels like a responsible move.
Parent’s Use of Media – If background television distracts the family from interacting with each other, then parents who are distracted by their smartphone are probably falling short as well. It’s our job, as parents, to set a good example.
Being Read To – Print book, eBook, iBook…is the parent reading to their child? I think that is the relevant question here. Is the parent using their voice and intonations to cuddle up and read…
Independent Play – Are we being entertained, or are we entertaining ourselves? Which apps put the child’s creative process in the driver’s seat? Which apps let us draw, create, and problem solve, because those are the ones I want on our family’s iPad…
As always, thanks for listening. I hope this helps you evaluate media’s role in your family.
Lorraine Akemann | Editor | Moms With Apps
> Do I dare extrapolate, and relate these topics to APPS?
Please do, since the AAP — with 12 years to work on it — didn’t extend its vision to interactive media!
Here’s my $.02 on the new statement, from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kleeman/children-and-media_b_1018147.html
Hi David, it’s a real treat to see a comment from you on this blog – so I appreciate you for taking the time to check in. I’ve read your article on the Huffington Post. You state, “They could have — and should have — at least discussed the new world of many screens and the affordances of touchscreen devices in particular, and raised issues to be studied and addressed on both the positive and negative sides.”
Agreed that in their “Recommendations for the Industry” section, a #3 for “more studies for interactive touchscreen devices” could be added. I just wonder if they avoid the topic because without more studies, any statement could be open to misinterpretation.
In a strange way, I wasn’t disappointed by the omission. I’m concerned that if any source like the AAP comes near the statement “iPads are good” – parents will take it way too generally and way to far. This is an EARLY time. We NEED to stay on our toes. If the doctor comes along and says “it’s all good” – we’ll stop thinking. There is too much at stake for this to happen.
Lorraine
I love the conversation happening on the topic – specifically your response Lorraine. We must stay on our toes. Like we’ve all learned about our diets, “moderation” is best. We love delivering apps that are educational, fun, and help support the positive social and emotional growth of kids. We also appreciate parents and educators asking for our physical books or utilizing our programs in events. The integrated approach helps raise the whole child and engaging all senses through iPads, books, songs, physical activity and more, while reinforcing a good message, will hopefully be part of the criteria companies establish when launching into the children and family market.