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The Messy Truth About Children’s Screen Time


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Screen time belief IT SOLVE THE BRAINS AND BODYS OF OUR CHILDREN.

Prior to and especially during the pandemic, parents, doctors and researchers more subtle message this can be both comforting and confusing: Screen time or technology may be good for kids but also bad. It varies.

Colleen Russo Johnson, a child development specialist and mother said it’s too late to move away from excessive and unrealistic views about children’s screen time. He said there is little certainty about what children should or shouldn’t do with technology and media. And it would help if caregivers were not made to be judged regardless of their choices.

Dr. “We have to stop looking at this as a black-and-white issue,” said Russo Johnson. “You don’t want your kids to be glued to screens all the time. That’s common sense,” he said. “But these things aren’t bad. There is so much variety and not everything is created equal.”

Dr. Russo Johnson, a children’s media and technology company, so parents take advantage of it if they believe screen time is appropriate. But he is one of many voices calling for a rethink of the notion that time spent with technology is totally bad.

Dr. Russo Johnson said that excessive messaging about children’s tech is particularly harmful to parents, for whom screen time may be the best option. Maybe it’s inappropriate or unsafe to play outside, and some parents need their kids to be on screen while they’re doing their jobs and other responsibilities.

During the pandemic, Dr. “Everyone has experienced this reality for a moment,” said Russo Johnson. This has led more parents and researchers to accept it. It’s not always clear what a “healthy balance” is for children with screens.

So, how do we turn that screen time BRINGS YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE MONSTERS into a happier middle ground? Dr. Russo Johnson had some ways for parents to think about screen time — but they’re not the rule. No rules! He said one question parents might ask is: “How does this particular device or screen, technology or feature improve or detract from the experience?”

Dr. Russo Johnson said caregivers may sometimes look for digital media or technology that encourages young children to be creative and engage in activities away from the screen, such as going on a scavenger hunt or playing dress-ups from on-screen commands.

He is a fan of apps. Toca Boca and Sago Mini This encourages young children to explore open-ended play without much instruction. Dr. Russo Johnson’s company, OK Playmakes children and their families the main characters of stories and games.

That doesn’t mean that more passive activities like watching videos are all bad, he said. Whenever possible, it can be great for parents to interact with their kids while using an app, reading a book, or watching a screen, but not always. Time alone is also good for children. Again no rules!

If you don’t pay any attention to what your kids are doing online, they may find some bad corners of the internet. However, Dr. Russo Johnson said parents shouldn’t be overly worried if kids escape a carefully manicured digital world. He said he once showed French song videos to his 4-year-old daughter, went away for a while, and came back to see her daughter watching YouTube videos depicting toys portraying badly scripted story lines.

Dr. Instead of freaking out, Russo Johnson said it was helpful to ask himself why his daughter was being filmed.

She acknowledges that the lack of clear rules and the amount of technology available to children can also feel like a burden. “With streaming and apps, anyone can stream anything, which puts more work on parents,” he said.

I asked him why his expert advice and many parents’ beliefs about children and technology had focused on fear for so long.

Dr. Russo Johnson said these views reflect constant concerns about children and how we react to everything new.

“Child development research will never happen at the speed of technology,” he said, “and we’ll leave fear-based decision making to default… A lot of people will take this approach if we don’t know for sure then. bad and we should avoid it.”


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