Little ones and screentime

I just finished reading this article in The Atlantic called "The Touch-Screen Generation," and it's really making me think about the relationship children today have with technology and what their caregivers and other adults should do about it.  As a children's librarian, anything about kids and media immediately has my attention and concern.  In grad school we talked a lot about the recommendation by the American Society of Pediatrics that children under age two have NO passive screentime.  And then after age two, we want them to be doing really educational things, right?

Maybe.  I love the argument that this article made for the concept of play.  I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't see the value of play for children, but I haven't often heard that value be ascribed to technological play as well.  And why not?  If an app that allows a toddler to build virtual towers out of virtual blocks follows the laws of physics, is that not reinforcing these physics concepts?  And if the app intentionally disregards physics and allows blocks to fly through the air, does that not stimulate imagination?  I'd never heard of some of the open-ended apps the article mentions (such as those from Toca Boca), but they sound like a great example of exploratory play.  Just learning to navigate with a tablet or other technology may also be invaluable for whatever field of study or career the child might one day begin.

Is there such a thing as too much tech time?  Of course.  I still think life is about balance, and just as kids of yesteryear were told they shouldn't read books ALL day everyday and should go outside and run around for a while, so I think it's smart for today's parents to say, "That's enough iPad time for right now; go play catch with your sister and you can come back to it later."  As the article points out, though, kids probably know this for themselves already or can learn it.  As awesome as the iPad is, eventually a kid will get sick of it just as he or she gets sick of any other toy.

The one thing about technology is that I hope it doesn't become a way for parents to spend less time with their kids than they already do.  I wouldn't want a parent to think that handing the kid an iPad with "educational" games is the equivalent of spending quality time with them.  Now, I'm not a parent, but I'm sure there are times when parents need a break and some high-quality apps can provide that for them.  But there's a difference between taking a break for a little bit and relying on technology to teach and interact with your children.

I hope that tablets and their apps become just one more aspect of children's lives, alongside and with approximately equal weight to books, music, movies, dramatic play, sports and games, nature, puzzles, conversation, and art.  Nothing more and nothing less.