In November of 2022, The Canadian Paediatric Society released new guidelines and recommendations on screen time limitations for children. Essentially, they now recommend limiting sedentary screen time, and acknowledge the growing base of learning and assistive tech base apps. I am interested in this shift and wonder about how previously “sedentary” apps will shift towards including more active and interactive elements as a result. Which types of learning will parents and educators value the most as they lift screen time limitations?
Here is a link to the release – screen time 2022
Here is a more concise news article – CTV News
Hi Robyn,
Thank you for sharing. As a parent of two young kids, I am particularly drawn to this post titled ‘Screen Time’ because time management is already a significant challenge in my daily life, and I feel that I can’t go a day without a smartphone. Being a self-disciplined role model is challenging, and I struggle to convince my kids to control their screen time. However, I firmly believe that, instead of fixating on the amount of screen time, parents can shift their focus toward using digital tools in a positive and healthy manner. It’s essential to remember that the primary objective of any technology is to enhance our convenience, making our lives easier, rather than causing us troubles and additional difficulties.
Hi Robyn,
Thank you for your post, it is particularly impactful for me right now as I am trapped at home (having caught COVID for the second time!) quarantining for two weeks with my two year/seven year old daughters, relying heavily on screen time to try and get anything done whatsoever, while the whole time feeling incredibly guilty about it all! I used to be critical of parents that gave their young children mobile phones and tablets to keep them entertained and I have completely turned into one of those parents. It is a rather large piece of humble pie! I liked the section on Mindful Use of Screen Time, as it give me a chance to consider controlling at least some aspects of my children’s screen time, such as when and where and what kind of content they are viewing. As a teacher, I also firmly believe there are some incredibly high-quality educational materials/apps online for kids such as Epic and a multitude of others. I also love the fact that my JHS students can access/submit/communicate through our schools online platform and we can use much less paper and the wasteful resources/energy necessary to make it. I do miss old fashioned books though…I have never really warmed up to my Kindle.
Hi Robyn, one hour still seems like a lot of screen time for children that young? However, as the get into the later school years much homework is completed with screen time. Educational apps like Je Lis and Epic facilitate mobile learning in various ways. Teachers don’t need to pass out books and students remember to return them on time. Students can listen to the books, highlight words, have interactive comprehension questions build in and so on. I think these types of learning applications warrant extended screen timings.