Message From Mrs. Grayson Merritt,  Principal

An interesting article just came out from the American Academy of Pediatrics about their latest findings on how much screen time we should allow our children.  Since our children are now immersed in technology, I have been personally interested on the affect all of this exposure will have on the development of the brain in early childhood children.  In the early childhood world, we are seeing a shift in how our children play and how their attention span is becoming less and less.

Preschoolers who play with technology on a regular basis are teaching their brain (which is pattern seeking) that if I touch the screen something will happen instantaneously.  No longer is a child required to sit and manipulate a puzzle piece or work with a block to get it to fit into a hole.  Children are having a harder time with simple prekindergarten skills like sitting for circle time and problem solving because they simply have not been taught to wait and to work through something when it doesn’t come right away.

We as parents have to be mindful of a child’s proper development and aware of how much time they are spending with electronics.  We can’t substitute an Ipad with Elmo for a child who needs quality connection time with their loved one.  Your child would benefit so much from eye-to-eye connection, touch and a silly fingerplay.  I love that the AAP now supports this with their most recent findings.

“The AAP recommends parents prioritize creative, unplugged playtime for infants and toddlers. Some media can have educational value for children starting at around 18 months of age, but it’s critically important that this be high-quality programming, such as the content offered by Sesame Workshop and PBS. Parents of young children should watch media with their child, to help children understand what they are seeing. “

Among the AAP recommendations:

• For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing.
• For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.

-American Academy of Pediatrics Website.

For the full article, please click here:  https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

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