Navigating screen time: Why and How to Manage Television Viewing
In the not-so-distant past, parenting was less stressful. The digital era that we live in provides us with information that we, as parents, can apply to unlock amazing possibilities in every domain of our children’s development. But it also poses us with a challenge that was never before an issue: managing their consumption of digital experiences.
The World Health Organisation recommends that children under 2 years of age shouldn’t be exposed to screen time at all, while pre-schoolers should be limited to 1 hour a day.
These recommendations are based on research results that indicate that more than 1 hour a day may disrupt sleep, impact negatively on eye health, lead to obesity, and result in possible developmental delays and concentration problems.1
In this article we will be looking at the impact of television on pre-schoolers, to provide parents with a frame of reference that will make it easier to make informed decisions.
Television viewing can affect pre-schoolers in negative and positive ways. On the negative side, watching for longer than the recommended 1 hour a day can disrupt normal brain development and displace other early childhood experiences that are more important. On the positive side, staying within the 1-hour limit can expose children to interesting information that stimulates their love for learning, while giving them a much-needed break.
The disruptive effect.
Too much television can disrupt the way in which a pre-schooler’s brain is wired for paying attention and staying on task. Researchers say cartoons are most disruptive. In fact, watching cartoons can disrupt a child’s ability to pay attention even if the clip is only 9 minutes long - provided that the program has typical cartoon-like qualities in the form of a loud soundtrack and flashing, rapid scene changes.
When a team of researchers analysed the impact of a 9-minute clip of the program SpongeBob SquarePants on 4-year-olds, they found that the children’s brains were so overstimulated directly afterwards that their ability to focus their attention was radically impaired. They struggled to follow changing instructions, solve problems and keep information in mind.2
The displacement effect.
The basic premise here is that television can have an indirect impact on pre-schoolers when they spend more than 1 hour a day on their devices or looking at screens. Why? Doing so robs them of doing other things that are more important and valuable from a developmental perspective.
When children are watching television or playing video games for hours on end, they spend less time actively developing their gross and fine-motor skills and having social interactions with peers. They also don’t spend as much time as they otherwise would in nature, playing with pets, listening to a parent read a children’s book, learning to be responsible by doing household chores, experiencing the bliss of self-directed daydreaming or even just simply being bored and ending up creating their own activity as a result.
Most importantly, too much screen time keeps them from having various types of play experiences and having two-way conversations with adults.
In fact, researchers say parents and children talk far less when the television is on in the background – even when nobody is actively watching. During one study, which was also led by Dr Christakis, a group of 329 children between the ages of 2 months and 4 years wore special recording devices around their necks that allowed the researchers to record everything that was said in their homes, including whether the television was switched on in the background.
The results showed that, with the television off, adults speak on average 941 words per hour. However, when the television was turned on in the background, that average dropped dramatically to only 171 words per hour. The children also spoke much less.3
When one takes into account that two-way conversation between parents and children is by far the most important contributor to early language development, the compound effect of talking so much less over a long period of time can be devastatingly negative – especially in households where the television is constantly switched on.
The informative effect.
On a positive note, age-appropriate educational children’s programs can help to foster a love for learning by introducing children to interesting information, new places and engaging presenters. Research shows that, although children learn less than would be the case if they had the same experiences in the “analogue world”, 3- to 5-year-olds can learn new words and facts from age-appropriate television – especially if they watch a few episodes a number of times and parents intentionally use target words in everyday life to emphasise their meaning.4
The relaxing effect.
It’s often difficult for children to think about other things when they are worried or stressed. Watching television (not cartoons) for a reasonable amount of time can help to distract them by directing their attention elsewhere without placing strenuous cognitive demands on them. In other words, watching television for less than 1 hour a day can serve as a coping mechanism to help pre-schoolers recharge emotionally and mentally.5
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Downloadable educational game
This month’s educational tool from us is a variety of screen-free games to help keep pre-schoolers busy during the holiday season in brain boosting ways. Enjoy!
Please follow this link to download your printable PDF File.
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Ogilvy January 2023
Recipe code: ZAJEPB017
References:
1. WHO Guidelines: Children and Screen Time [Internet]. Mudita. 2019 [cited 4 October 2022]. Available from: https://mudita.com/community/blog/who-guidelines-children-and-screen-ti…;
2. Shute N. SpongeBob May Be Too Speedy For Preschool Brains [Internet]. NPR. 2011 [cited 4 October 2022]. Available from: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/09/12/140401099/spongebo….
3. Christakis D, Gilkerson J, Richards J, Zimmerman F, Garrison M, Xu D et al. Audible Television and Decreased Adult Words, Infant Vocalizations, and Conversational Turns. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 2009;163(6):554.
4. Rice M, Woodsmall L. Lessons from Television: Children's Word Learning When Viewing. Child Development. 1988;59(2):420.
5. Halloran J. The Distraction Coping Style [Internet]. Coping Skills for Kids. [cited 4 October 2022]. Available from: https://copingskillsforkids.com/distraction.
