Question: Is there a preferred method of screen time for when my child/toddler does start using a tablet or phone? For example, are certain games or shows better for toddlers? 

 

Answer: When you start to introduce screens and technology to young children, it can be helpful to think about it like you would teaching good eating habits:  

  1. Quality: Find good-quality food to put in their bodies and brains, so they don’t demand junk food all the time
  2. Routines: Have regular times of day when you sit down to eat, rather than grazing
  3. Togetherness: Enjoy eating as a family
  4. Emotions: Try not to stress-eat 

Your question primarily involves #1 – finding the games or shows that are better for toddlers – but we will touch on the other aspects here too, because they are important for young kids to get the most out of their screen use. 

Quality: How can you tell what is good quality media? 

There’s so much media content made for kids in the digital world – from app stores to YouTube to streaming services – so parents are right to be choosy. The research is very clear that educational media designed by people who really understand kids’ unique minds -- like PBS KIDS, Sesame Street, or Blue’s Clues -- is linked with better child language development and school readiness.  

Unfortunately, a lot of child media claims to be “educational” but actually isn’t. Research looking at the app stores shows that most kids’ apps (other than ones like those listed above) are not very educational, offer only repetitive and simplistic learning experiences, and often have ads or other distractions. Some apps actually put pressure on young kids to make purchases! Many apps contain ads for other low-quality apps, which kids can easily download. We advise parents to 1) adjust settings so that kids cannot download apps or make purchases without parent permission, 2) read app reviews on Common Sense Media, rather than those on the app store, and 3) play the app alongside the child, to see if it meets your standards.  

Even if you search “educational kid’s videos” on YouTube, you actually get a lot of kidfluencer videos full of toys and brands, not actually rich educational content or good storytelling. Recent research has shown that the majority of the videos watched by children on YouTube have low educational quality and have lots of ads. Content creators know they can make money by creating videos that contain things kids will click on – such as candy, cake, toys, luxury items or fast food – which are recommended by its algorithm. So, be aware that these types of videos the “junk food” of screen media – fun to watch here and there, but can easily become the child’s favorite media. 

Finally, it’s OK to use your own barometer for what counts as “better” media. If you like the messages, stories, and activities in an app or video, it’s not packed with ads, and you even learn something from it, then that’s a good sign. On the other hand, if your child is obsessed with certain YouTubers or games that are annoying, repetitive, and kind of shallow, then take the reins and change to something better.  

Routines: How do I set boundaries around phone or tablet use? 

See our other post about this, which has lots of tips for setting daily media routines. Avoid letting your young child have on-demand access to their phone or tablet throughout the day. This is linked with worse sleep, less reading and play and might make your child not want to try other positive activities. 

Togetherness: Why is it important to use media together? 

Toddlers and preschoolers learn more from media when they have an adult watching alongside, asking questions or helping the child connect the dots between what happened in the show and the child’s everyday life. This is called “co-viewing” or “joint media engagement”. It’s important because young children don’t learn as well from 2-dimensional screens (especially screens with lots of distractions) as they do from 3-D social interactions.   

For example, this study found that social cues were missing from language-learning toddler videos, which could be a reason why toddlers’ learning of new words from videos can be inefficient compared to learning directly from another person. Co-viewing also allows parents to help their children identify advertisements, negative content and rude behavior in characters.  

Studies have found that parents are more likely to co-use media such as books and TV, which are easier to interact around. In contrast, handheld tablets and phones can be harder to interact with young kids around, as their attention is stuck on the screen rather than a shared experience. Research experiments have shown that it’s harder for parents to snuggle with kids while they use a device, or get them to respond to us. Therefore, you might choose to use a stationary screen like a laptop, TV, or propped-up tablet to co-view around. 

Emotions: Why not use screens as stress-reduction and calming tools? 

We cover this in another post. Briefly, when children use screens to calm down, they are not learning other healthy coping techniques or calming strategies. Also, like stress-eating, it can become a less-healthy way of managing feelings.  

Resources for Parents 

 

Age: Toddler, 1-3 years 

Topics:  Screen time, pacing, best shows/games for toddlers 

Role: Parent/Caregiver 

Last Updated

10/16/2023

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics