What are the Experts Saying?
As children become more immersed in digital media, SET Technology LLC strives to promote healthy connections with technology. One way to promote that is by sharing the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for children’s media use. To start, we’ll share some research from the 2017 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight.
Here are the stats from 1,454 parents:
Children under 8 spend an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes with screen media
In that time, 42% is spent on TV, 35% on mobile devices and the other 23% is spent with DVDs, computers and video game devices
Children ages 2-8 spend an average of 1 hour on mobile devices such as phones and tablets.
Nearly half (49%) watch TV or use mobile devices in the hour before bedtime.
67% of parents believe children’s media use helps their learning.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics:
Children younger than 18 months should avoid screen media besides using it for video-chatting.
Parents of children 18-24 months should introduce high quality programming and watch it with their child.
Children 2-5 should limit screen use to 1 hour per day and parents should co-view with them to encourage discussion and applications of the content to the real world.
Children 6 and older should have consistent limits on time spent with media and ensure it does not replace sleep, physical activity and socialization.
Parents should encourage media-free times as well as ongoing communication about online safety and treating others with respect.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also provides a Family Use Media Tool that lets you customize family goals to promote an educational and healthy lifestyle.
The SET Tech solution!
To enhance the educational value of digital media, SET Technology has developed an innovative writing tool that helps children practice handwriting during touch screen time. Check out our Hold It Write™ stylus for kids!
We want children to play outside, socialize with friends AND benefit from technology. With our writing tool, you can make touch screen time productive and engaging!