Gardner amazed me the other day when he was watching a video on Jerry's phone. Gardner really enjoys watching videos of himself from when he was younger (yes, younger than 18 months is oh so long ago for him). What amazed me was that he knew to turn the phone from portrait orientation to landscape. iKidUNot!!... See what I did there? I couldn't believe he knew that the video would fit better if he turned the phone. I was in awe.
Then I started thinking how will I raise a child who will be a product of the touchscreen generation? How will I know how much screen time is too much? What can I do to entice him to play outside? I don't think that parents have this answer. I know I certainly don't!
I have to say that Gardner doesn't care much about television. We have it on in the background very frequently while he plays. He would rather play with his toys. He does enjoy Curious George, but won't sit through an entire episode. He also loves to read books, especially if it will help him avoid bedtime! I'm also fortunate that he absolutely LOVES playing outside.
Still, Gardner understands FaceTime. He grasps the concept that our phones can connect us to video streams of people that aren't in the room with us and we can interact with one another. The iPhone interests him very much. I'm also interested in my iPhone too, so how can I blame him?
Of course, we monitor his screen time, but this is a piece of technology that is not going away. On one hand, we could deprive him of this technology, but when he gets into the world everyone will be well-versed in using the technology. If we go overboard with allowing him to have access to the technology he will have limited social skills. Aren't these two fears things that we are legitimately afraid of? These are the tough parenting decisions that we will have to make on a daily basis.
I realize that this is one of those topics that can generate lots of comments pro-touchscreens and anti-technology. I have to say, I wish it were that simple. But just like with breastfeeding or formulas feeding, cry-it-out, co-sleeping, organic food, birthing preferences, vaccines, and stay-at-home versus working moms. At the end of the day, isn't it really about what is best for you and your family? Sometimes I just wish we had the answers.
Even the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently changed their stance about screen time. In September they moved from absolutely no screen time for kids under 2 to:
“ ...‘screen time’ is becoming simply ‘time,’... our policies must evolve or become obsolete. The public needs to know that the Academy’s advice is science-driven, not based merely on the precautionary principle.”
— American Academy of Pediatrics
There have always been fears about how new things will affect people. Some 19th century physicians believed that staring out a train car for hours would cause people to lose touch with reality.
I guess my point is that research constantly changes on this subject, but unfortunately it is not being updated faster than our technology is. So what is a parent to do? Share your thoughts below!