DECATUR, Ill. (WAND)- High tech holiday gifts present a challenge for families who must decide how much “screen time” is too much, experts said.
Many parents discuss their children’s television, video game and digital media use during wellness visits, physician assistant Amanda Shils said. Although the American Association of Pediatrics recommends avoiding digital media for toddlers and limiting that time to an hour a day for pre-schoolers, Shils said families must navigate screen time based on their own situations.
“We don’t want the TV or a movie or an app to be a babysitter,” Shils said. “We’ve all been guilty of that as a parent, but we don’t want that to be the norm for that age group. We really want to interact with the child.”
Sara DeWitt, Vice President of PBS KIDS Digital, agrees.
“The better thing to do is start at the beginning of the week and think about times that week when you’re going to need that time,” DeWitt said. “Just think ahead to what are going to be the stressful moments this week and establish that with your kids as the time you’re going to get to have some screen time.”
PBS KIDS offers its own app with educational games, but DeWitt recommends that, whatever apps children use, parents familiarize themselves with the app and device and continue engaging their children.
“Have them play in a place where you can see what’s going on,” DeWitt said. “A tablet is great because it’s a slightly bigger screen. If they’re playing in the kitchen or living room, you can walk back once or twice and see what they are doing and afterwards say ‘How did you get through that level? That looked really hard!’ or “That character looked really sad. What would you do in a situation like that?’”
DeWitt said the PBS KIDS Facebook page offers resources for parents. She also recommended checking with local librarians for help.
