Electronics: Bad for Kids or Good Learning Tools?

The electronics revolution has hit every age group, and children are soaking up the electronics like every other new thing in their lives.

My son isn’t even 2 yet, but he is always reaching for my iPhone and any electronics we have in the house: tablet, computer, TV and pretty much anything else. Generally, I think he just likes pushing buttons, but he also likes seeing the reaction to his button pushing or touch screen interactions.

There are some educational apps that help him learn shapes, letters and other things. We use these very sparingly now that he’s getting a bit older. We try to limit my son’s electronics use and make sure he has plenty of other toys to play with, but he is still very young and I know he will only be pushing for more as he gets older.

Recommendation

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages TV and other media use in children younger than 2 and encourages parents of older children to limit supervised screen time to one to two hours per day of educational, nonviolent programs.

Sleep

Dr. Gregory Lawton, a pediatrician on staff at Chester County Hospital, writes on Chester County Moms that electronics can interfere with children’s sleep.

...television images impair the normal process of sleep, especially the process of initiating or falling asleep. The rapidly changing images stimulate the brain and excite it, raising the threshold of “boredom” that needs to be overcome to fall asleep. Television programs are designed to entertain. If they are successful, then they will entertain our children right out of a good night sleep. -Lawton writes

What Do You Think?

So what do you do about your children and screen time? Do you allow them to have a TV or computer in their room? Do you regulate all media or just TV?