Screening and Selecting Appropriate Content

Question: I see lots of things online about the speed/movement of content for toddlers and what’s good and not good for them to watch. What should I be looking for when screening/reviewing and selecting appropriate content for toddlers and early elementary school children?

Answer: It’s a great question, given how many fast-paced and attention-grabbing visual and audio effects appear in children’s programming. The good news is, it’s been studied, and the research finds that rapid-fire cartoons or media (like TikTok or YouTube shorts) are harder for young children to process, which means the resources their brains use to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and play might be a little depleted or disorganized immediately following viewing. The immediate impact of this type of fast-paced content can of course vary given a child’s unique abilities and level of self-control.

What Parents Can Do

• Select high-quality educational media (like Sesame Street, PBS Kids shows, Blue’s Clues, Tumble Leaf, or Bluey) since studies have also shown that these kinds of programs are not linked with developmental issues and are a safer bet than letting your toddler/preschooler scroll through “shorts”.
• Try to watch shows with your young child, helping them understand by explaining what’s on the screen and connecting it to your child’s everyday life. So, if you like watching funny animal videos on social media, just cozy up and talk about what you are laughing at (and whether your pet ever does that!) – this will also make it easier to transition off of the device.
• If you feel like your little one is more antsy, cranky, or dysregulated after any type of media, do your own experiment to cut out that media type for 2-3 weeks. Replace it with something more slow-paced and that you enjoy watching with them and see whether things improve!

Age: 3-5, preschool

Topics: Media, pace, speed of content

Role: Parent/Caregivers