Not All Screen Time Created Equal

Wow, I bet my kids wished I’d known this during all those years we went without TV and then when we finally got one, limited their screen time. And the video games, I thought I was so smart making the rule that they could only be played before 9 am on weekends, thinking no teenager in our house liked to get up that early, but for those they did. I recently read an opinion piece that alluded to the fact that not all screen time is bad and all screens shouldn't be lumped together (TV and iPad specifically). Studies and surveys back up the idea that tablets promote learning and that kids benefit from using both tablets and print materials more than using just print alone. And here I’d been considering most of these handheld screens basically as electronic babysitters. The key to this issue seems to be the type of screen used and the use of educational apps. The piece also mentioned the use of SKYPE with a grandparent as not a bad thing, and on this I heartily agree. Apparently this generation’s iPad is my generation’s Jane Austen. I’ll keep this thought in mind when my grandkids take their tablets with them to the potty.