Screen Time- Devil in Disguise or Misunderstood?

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A parent’s duty when they have children is to give them the best life they can, and some of that has to do with how much they allow their kids to access through a screen. With the life they give them, they also give them a home with their own rules and structure. There are certain things parents can do to best prepare their children to be successful in the classroom. This can range from monitoring the kinds of shows they watch to how often they let them access any kind of screen. Some of the most important things that lead to success should be taught very early on so as to inspire life long patterns; parents should only expose their children to shows with educational content, allow them to watch in moderation, and encourage literacy with the correct shows and devices.
Television is a distraction for children and can hurt their cognitive abilities if they watch too much because it is non interactive. In the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Helena Duch and colleagues mentioned that the American Academy of Pediatrics advises, “parents avoid exposing children 2 and under to screen media, a nationally representative survey found that 68% of children under the age of 2 use screen media in a typical day, and that average screen time was 2.05 hours per day” (Dutch et al 2). Children live in a world full of screens, ranging from iPhones, TVs, to tablets and computers. Drastic brain development occurs during the ages of 1-3 and exposing them to too much screen time of any kind can have negative effects on them (Hopkins 27). Putting them in front of a screen also steals away from times they could be talking, playing, and interacting with their surroundings. Pediatrician Dr. Michael Rich claims that shows d...

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...ralasian Journal Of Early Childhood 38.1 (2013): 23-28. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Krcmar, Marina. "Word Learning In Very Young Children From Infant-Directed Dvds." Journal Of Communication 61.4 (2011): 780-794. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Lewin, Tamar. “No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund.” New York Times. New York Times, 23 October, 2010. Web. 18 April. 2014.
Moses, Annie M., and Benson McMullen. "What Television Can (And Can't) Do To Promote Early Literacy Development." YC: Young Children 64.2 (2009): 80-89. Education Research Complete. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Park, Madison. “Study: Want a smart baby? TV's not going to help.” CNN. Cable News Network, 4 March 2009. Web. 12 April 2014.
Thomas, Paul. " Effects of Television On Young Children (Interview With Top Voted Pediatrician)." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 April. 2014.

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