JACKSONVILLE, Fla — As a lot of kids on the First Coast start to return to school many of them, including mine, will be taking their classes online. When you add that screen time to the increased amount of time they've been spending on their devices during this pandemic, I wanted to know how much is too much screen time, and the answer, according to the expert I spoke with, may surprise you.
“Parents should not be beating themselves up or feeling guilty about this, but they should also be thinking about shifting from thinking about screen quantity to screen quality,” Michael Robb, Director of Research at the non-profit Common Sense said. “If kids are engaged with high-quality content that you know is stoking curiosity, is connecting them to the friends, fueling their imagination, who's to say that should end just because they've hit some arbitrary screen limit.”
Balance, he said, is key. Instead of focusing on how much time your children are on their devices, think about all the other things they're doing that are good for their development.
“Are they sleeping enough? Are they getting to know good nutritious foods? Are they playing with other kids digitally or in-person?” Robb said. “If they're doing all those things, then you don't need to worry about counting every single minute of screen time. It's when there's so much usage of iPads and TVs and other things that it's replacing things that we know are good for kids that it becomes a problem.”
If your child is isolated, anxious, stressed or agitated, Robb said those are signs your child may be using their devices too much.
“That might be time to try to steer them away or go outside or find something else to do for a while,” Robb said.
During this pandemic, technology can help children connect with their friends which can be positive.
“That's absolutely the case because relationships are key to kids’ healthy development,” Robb said.
He points out that not all screens are created equal. Good content is key.
“If you're worried that you know the online classroom is just adding to your kids' screen time, don't. Don't worry about that, and I don't think we should be lumping screen activities all together,” Robb said. “The number one message I have right now is don’t feel guilty. We’re living through a massive cultural and societal shock and families have enough stress to deal with and you know counting screen minutes should be very low on the list of concerns for any of us.”
Common Sense Media recommends several educational apps, games and websites broken down by their grade. You can see their recommendations here.