Healthy Screen Habits Takeaway

Resources

For more info:

Get the screen aware action kit here: Fairplay for Kids Screen Aware Action Kit

ReSet Your Child's Brain by Dr. Victoria Dunkley: Amazon link

Jama Pediatrics Article: link

Fairplay for Kids: website

Screen Time Network: link

Show Transcript

Hillary Wilkinson (00:03):

Technologies change, children's developmental needs do not. That is the opening tagline of a postcard that is being distributed by the Early Childhood Work Group from Screen Action Network at Fair Play, a work group that yours truly is both a member and supporter of the postcard, is part of a screen aware action kit that you can get free online to support the practice of offline experiences for the very young. My guests today are foundational in the creation of the Screen Aware Action Kit. Lauren Paer and Mindy Hollahan are passionate about prioritizing developmental needs and wellbeing of young children amidst many confusing and sometimes misleading messages about screen-based technologies. Before we dive in, since there are two of you, let's spend a little bit of time on introductions. That way people can recognize your voices. Lauren, what is your role at Fair Play and how do you like to have fun?

Lauren Paer (00:23):

Hi Hillary. Um, first I just wanna say thank you so much for having us. It's so good to be here. I am the project manager at Fair Play's Screen Time Action Network. The Screentime Action Network is a global collaborative community of almost 2000 practitioners, educators, medical professionals, parents and youth advocates working to reduce excessive screen use in childhood and keep kids safe online. Our parent organization, Fair Play, is a leading watchdog for children's marketing and digital manipulation. In my role as the project manager at the Action Network, I oversee our six volunteer work groups helping guide their projects and sometimes jumping in on projects like I did with the Action Kit.

Hillary Wilkinson (01:11):

For sure.

Lauren Paer (01:11):

I also oversee our volunteers, run our LinkedIn and provide strategic input and operational support for our  Director Jean Rogers.  As far as what I do for fun, um, I'm very lucky to live in Hawaii and I love to be in the ocean. Uh, especially body boarding and surfing. Um, there's just nothing like being out in the waves and catching a clean face. Um, that is really heaven for me.

Hillary Wilkinson (02:18):

So Mindy, can you tell us what you do with the Screen Time Action Network? And my second question is, if you get to choose the restaurant, what kind of cuisine are you going for?

Mindy Holohan (02:31):

Ooh. So I am privileged to get to co-chair the Early Childhood Work Group. So one of the six that Lauren just mentioned, um, with Sveta Pais, and she is in Austin, Texas, and I am in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Um, and we have been doing that work together since the inaugural conference, the Screen Time Action Network conference. And if I get to choose I like tapas because I can never decide what I want to eat. And so I get a little bit of everything.

Hillary Wilkinson (03:28):

I understand - love a charcuterie board. Yep. Yeah, <laugh>. Okay. So the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for babies up to 18 months, minimal screen time, and only with an adult co-viewing for toddlers 18 months to two years, and no more than one hour per day of screen media entertainment for preschoolers. Since this season is about Tech, Tots and Littles, and since this is the early childhood work group, I thought this is a perfect time to ask you guys “What's wrong with screens and aren't kids today just learning differently?” That's what I, I hear, you know, parents sharing like, maybe this is just the way we're headed. Maybe we're just learning differently.

Lauren Paer (04:25):

Yeah, that's a great question. Hillary, uh, or, great, two questions. I'm gonna take the second one on first. Um, children are not learning differently today. That is a myth, um, a fairly pervasive myth. And as you mentioned in the intro, one of the mottos of the early childhood work group is, while technologies change, children's developmental needs do not, um, evolution does not work that quickly. And there is simply no evidence that screen-based experiences provide young children the learning benefits that social interactions do, or creative play, manipulating three-dimensional objects. And it's just not true that, uh, young children today are well adapted to learn on screens, even if they are spending more and more time on screens. Um, to your first question, nothing is wrong with the little screen time, and parents should not feel guilty about giving their children a little bit of screen time. Uh, however, screens are highly stimulating to our nervous system, which is one of the reasons we see children so attracted to them.

Lauren Paer (05:40):

Um, this is most true of content that is loud and fast moving, but it is a feature of screens in general. And one of our advisory board members at the Screentime Action Network, Dr. Victoria Dunkley, makes this case very well in her book, Reset Your Child's Brain. Uh, she cites a lot of research showing that excessive screen time dysregulates children's nervous system, and this has a, a slew of follow-on effects, and more and more research is coming out all of the time to support it. Um, for example, there was a study just published by JAMA on January 30th of this year, 2023, um, where researchers found that increased use of screen time during infancy was associated with poorer executive functioning once the child was nine years old. And executive functioning for those not familiar with the term, it's sort of an umbrella term for high level mental processes that enable us to plan, exercise, self-control, focus, remember, and more so this is, these are very critical skills that are all, uh, undergirded by executive function.

Lauren Paer (06:53):

And this paper is suggesting that screen use in those formative years has lasting impacts many years later. Um, there was another recent paper published by Dr. Hutton that showed a link between Young Children's screen uses and actual changes to their brain structure. So screens are very powerful and, and that's why it's so important to be mindful. Um, and I'll just really quickly add one more thing that is, we're seeing that these days some children are spending so much time on screen, so many hours that it's also crowding out time for other important activities that we know are necessary for healthy development. So that is the creative, unstructured play, physical manipulation of three-dimensional objects, and of course, time interacting directly with their parents and other loving adults and also with other children.

Hillary Wilkinson (07:53):

Right, right. It's really fascinating the, uh, research and thank you for sharing that continually seems to come out as we go younger and younger in our exploration of the long lasting impacts that technology is having. 

So today we are going to be getting this introduction to a brand new resource, which was developed and designed by the Early Childhood Work group at the Action Network. And that is the Screen Aware Early Childhood Action Kit. So the title is like, very cool and fun. Anything with action always kind of peaks my interest, but, uh, what does it mean to be screen aware?

Mindy Holohan (01:09):

The choice of being screen aware was a very intentional one. Um, and it was really in response, you know, to what we hear from early childhood practitioners and families with young children, um, that finding guidance, you know, from making decisions around screen use and managing screen technologies and kind of navigating what we think of as like the screen-based ecosystems that we're all embedded in, um, is really, really challenging. Um, and when people seek guidance or seek to build understanding, they tend to encounter extremes, you know? So like on one end there's guidance that's actually very well-informed and well-intentioned, um, but ends up feeling very prescriptive.

Hillary Wilkinson (02:19):

And I feel like there's also like sometimes even unintentionally there's an, uh, there's a built-in element of like, “You're doing it wrong.”

Mindy Holohan (02:27):

Exactly. You know,

Hillary Wilkinson (02:29):

Which feels very like, adjacent to shame, which is Well, I, I mean, I, I think if, if any early childhood educator ever, like they, we all, nobody wants that <laugh>.

Mindy Holohan (02:41):

Exactly. That's like the opposite outcome. Um, and so really intentioned, you know, approaches can also leave people feeling like overwhelmed and kind of paralyzed and navigating those feelings of just what you said, like guilt cuz I I'm not doing it right or there's a right way and I'm not doing it. Or, um, and then that shame, which I think does kind of feed that more paralysis of like, well, I just can't get this right, so I'm just not gonna do anything <laugh>. You know? Um, and then on the other end, there's like all the confusion and pressure, um, that is generated by like the for-profit industries that are, that are pushing out these products and messages around the, the technologies that, um, can be very misleading. You know, thinking that maybe I should be, um, doing more reading activities on a tablet because there's this program and maybe that will, you know, enhance my child's ability to read or, you know, for the early childhood practitioner, you know, uh, going to a conference and there's all these new gadgets and devices for the classroom that are shiny and, you know, um, programs might think they wanna be like on the cutting edge, you know?

Hillary Wilkinson (04:15):

Mm-hmm.

Mindy Holohan (04:16):

So, um, I might think about taking that precious space. I have, you know, there's, we've both taught in classrooms, we're always trying to be creative with where to put things, but like feeling pressure to like maybe move out like a sand table or something so that we can put in, um, a computer corner or like one of the products, you know, that I saw recently that I'm having a hard time processing is, um, you know, like a very large kind of table that serves as a, um,

Hillary Wilkinson (04:57):

I've seen the same thing.

Mindy Holohan (04:58):

A big tablet, right?

Hillary Wilkinson (04:59):

I've seen the same thing. Yeah. And it's supposed to take the place of a sand and water table and uh, like mimic those type of activities and it's being billed as like “without the mess”.

Mindy Holohan (05:15):

Exactly.

Hillary Wilkinson (05:16):

Which to me, I cannot think of anything more abhorrent than wanting to not be involved with the mess of early learning. That's what it needs to happen. That's what it, it needs to happen,

Mindy Holohan (05:34):

Right? So there's that end though that people are also like thinking, well, maybe I sh you know, this is novel and it's the next thing and maybe we should do this. And, you know, um, and so there's that end of the spectrum. Um, and for parents too, you know, like just a lot of pressures about, you know, what the, this, the promises of this screen technology, many of which fall very flat. But what we don't really tend to have is like a way like down the middle mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I think, you know, the approach towards screen awareness is we're saying, okay, both ends of these spectrums exist. We will all be exposed to them and navigating them. Some people might migrate more one way or have to migrate more. I might not have a choice of what equipment is in my classroom or, you know, like we found during the pandemic, like a lot of people, you know, young children now were on screens to preserve, you know, their engagement with programs and things like that mm-hmm. <affirmative>

Mindy Holohan (06:38):

That maybe hadn't been previously used. So we know that, you know, it's gonna be complex,but to have a way forward. And I think that that idea of screen awareness really is designed, you know, intentionally to say screens are gonna be part of our daily lives, they're part of our environments. And what we're doing is we're really seeking to provide guidance for practitioners and families that is viable mm-hmm. <affirmative> that, you know, is actionable, um, that is rooted in the research, you know, and in best practices, but also considers the many different realities on the ground. Um, and it really, you know, is designed to like, ha have people feel like they're in the driver's seats. Perfect. Yeah. And, um, the, the guiding, um, the guiding, I think variable in that is that it is always bringing us back to what is like child, like, appropriate for child development, developmentally appropriate practice.

Mindy Holohan (08:07):

So like developmentally centered and that, that helps us find that can be a really good way. so helping kind of, um, reduce the noise, the guilt, the pressure, and bringing it back to like a simpler, framework which is like being guided by what we know is best for child development, what is best for human relationships and doing, you know, making our decisions and organizing ourselves accordingly. And to that end, it is also very important, um, to remember that screen awareness is not just about a child's engagement with screens, but also adults' decisions around screens, um, and screen time and screen use as well.

Hillary Wilkinson (09:21):

Perfect. Yeah, I agree. So when we come back, we're gonna hear more about this free, amazing resource, who can benefit from getting it and staying intentional, and how it can be used.

—-----------Ad Break —-----Gabb Wireless—---------------

Hillary Wilkinson:

My guests are Lauren Paer and Mindy Holohan, both of whom are here representing the Early Childhood Workgroup of the Children's Screen Time Action Network at Fair Play. The Work Group is comprised of a diverse array of early childhood advocates and professionals who work to nurture, organize, and promote initiatives in alignment with the developmental needs of young children, their families, and the needs of practitioners serving them. It's a really big group and they have been working hard on this exciting new resource. We've been talking about it, the Screen Aware Early Childhood Action Kit, and I think the best way to find out about it is just like, let's dive in. What is this?

Lauren Paer (24:54):

As the name somewhat suggests, it's a kit to help ground the practice of screen awareness, which Mindy just, um, spoke to and, and did a great job giving a, a nice summary of, so the kit is to provide parents caretakers, early childhood professionals with both the why and the how. And we took pains to try to be as concise as possible. It's a collection of resources that provides guidance for prioritizing healthy child development. In our screen saturated world, strategies for managing screen use, this is both for children and for adults. It has research based information on the impacts of screen technologies and resources per for promoting screen awareness, both at home and in the classroom. 

Hillary Wilkinson (26:07):

What led to the creation of this kit? What was the driving force behind it?

Mindy Holohan (26:17):

When we first formed the early childhood work group, we conducted a kinda series of surveys of, of the members, and in those surveys we learned that one of the top needs, like felt needs of, of the group was usable, actionable, accessible, <laugh> printable resources. So there seemed to be kind of a, a dearth of that. Um, and then we did a more expanded kind of needs assessment. So work group members then took out, once we decided we're gonna create this, this resource, you know, collection, what kinds of things are people needing, what topics do they feel like they need information on? And so then that got pushed out. Um, and so we heard from an even broader, bigger, um, group of, of folks and, um, again, like across practices, um, everything from speech language pathologists to librarians to folks that work in children's museums, you know, grandparents and, um, and heard more about the, the priorities that people had in terms of like the, the information they need and want. And, that is what informed it's development.

Hillary Wilkinson (28:25):

Great.

Mindy Holohan (28:26):

Our kind of premise has been like we can have the best resource in the world, but if it's not, um, responsive to what people are looking for, it's not gonna make this the impact that we, we hope. 

Hillary Wilkinson (29:27):

Right. Who do you see using it?

Mindy Holohan (29:31):

Well, we always say kind of like, we want a big tent here, right? Um, there are resources in it that are more specific to the needs of a practitioner. So there's some that are focused on classroom settings. Um, there's some that might be more relevant to families that are focused on home settings, but the scope of the content is widely useful, like, and applicable. Um, and we've, so far, received enthusiastic, yeah. Like responses from everything from Yeah, like pediatricians who want to, you know, have pieces in the waiting room or, you know, speech and language home visitors who, who are eager to, um, disperse it, um, with families and talk about it directly. Um, early childhood providers, like care providers, um, educators like that are looking for things to share out with families, maybe to go home in a backpack or something. So we're hoping it Yeah. Has a really wide range of uses and applications.

Hillary Wilkinson (30:41):

Yeah. So can you talk about how it's put together? You talked about how you gathered all of the kind of intel and what was needed, but the thing that I like about it is it's, it's put together in a readily comprehensible format that means it's like, it's easy to understand how I'm going to use this. The trick here is we have to take this very visual based thing and translate it to podcast. So, so can you kind of lead us through how it's put together? Like what does it look like?

Lauren Paer (31:16):

Yeah, absolutely. And, and to drill down a bit more into its components. So I would say the, biggest element of it is our fact and action sheets. And these are 10 double-sided sheets on the topics as Mindy mentioned, that we found people were most hungry for. And the front side is the side with facts. So that is boiled down research based information on the topic, and then the backside is the action sheet. So that is concrete actions, that parents or early childhood professionals can take.

Hillary Wilkinson (32:00):

Activities.

Lauren Paer (32:02):

Exactly. And so for example, our first sheet is on learning and development, and on the fact side it asks : What do young children need? And it goes through the most important, um, developmental needs of young children's. And then it also asks, can screens meet a child's needs? And it goes through answers to that question and it's, it's all cited and backed up by research. And then you flip it over and there is a smattering of activities for different categories of development. Like, if I am trying to encourage cognitive and brain development, what are a few activities that I can do with my young child or social emotional development?

Hillary Wilkinson (32:51):

Can you give an example, Lauren,  I just want to give an example of like one of the activities. So people aren't thinking, we're talking, we're citing all this research, we're doing all this, like high level stuff. I don't want people to think these activities or something beyond their scope of what they have say in their kitchen. So could you give like, some examples of activities?

Lauren Paer (33:19):

Yeah, absolutely. So for cognitive and brain development, that could be sorting and counting objects or working with opposites, identifying opposites. And it, we also have a physical development section, so that is crawling, jumping, swinging. None of this is rocket science. It's just that busy parents have so much on their mind. We've been told that for particularly the backside of, of the first sheet on learning and development, it's something you could stick on your fridge and then instead of having to keep it all in your head, it's something you can quickly refer to.

Hillary Wilkinson (34:01):

I love it because as one of, um, my colleagues at Healthy Screen Habits here, Amy Adams likes to say common knowledge is not common practice, right? And this is something that can take that practice and just outline it of like, oh, yeah, okay, so I'm making dinner here and, you know, hand, you know, three different colors of cups and can you put the, the oranges together, the blues or whatever. So I mean,

Lauren Paer (34:34):

Absolutely.

Hillary Wilkinson (34:34):

Yeah,

Lauren Paer (34:35):

Definitely. And, and, um, another one I was gonna mention is like our advertising and media literacy. And on that one, the actions are more question based, right? So questions that parents can ask their children before allowing a show or an app. So that kind of gives you, um, a flavor of the sheets, um, other components to the kit. Rather include principal signs, um, which could be posters. If you print them big enough, they're ready to print, they're designed and it's just something to remind us in a visual way for an area that is meant to be a phone free space, a place to prioritize hands-on play or face-to-face interaction. And the signs actually have those positive elements highlighted so that it's not all about no screens, but highlighting the, the positive activities that that space is meant to encourage, instead of screens.

Lauren Paer (35:42):

And the third piece of the kit is customizable letter templates. So these are adaptable letters. They're in Word documents, so you can download and edit them as you see fit. Um, they are to advocate for screen awareness in the home and classroom setting. So we have one letter that is written from the perspective of parents to their early childhood center, asking them and explaining the importance of screen awareness and asking them to consider becoming a screen aware practice. And then there's another, uh, letter in the other direction. If you're an early childhood center and you're wanting parents to be aware of the benefits of screen awareness, um, there's a template for you too because we really see families in early childhood centers as partners in creating screen aware childhoods. 

Hillary Wilkinson (37:00):

It can really be a generational shift, I think. I think with a tool like this, you can, you can really enact generational change for the better. So I feel like these pages are something that I would pick up at, like say my pediatrician's office or maybe even like children's story hour at the library. And if people would like more information on the Screen Aware Early Childhood Action Kit, or to just, like you said, kind of give maybe that nudge of would you consider becoming a screen aware practice to childcare providers or other early childhood practitioners? Where, where can they find it? Where can they look for it?

Lauren Paer (37:45):

They can find it at our website, which is fairplay for kids.org/p as in Peter, F as in Frank slash e c kit, that's E for early C for childhood kit, k i t.

Hillary Wilkinson (38:10):

Excellent. And I'll link all of that, to these show notes too. So if you're listening and you're thinking, oh gosh, I need to write that down, but I'm in the car, do not write something down while you're in the car, <laugh>, just, just come and visit healthy screen habits.org and this'll be in the show notes. So now's my fa Well, well all of this has been my favorite part, but <laugh>, I feel like you guys have so much knowledge and wisdom between the two of you. I don't wanna miss out on like any big thing that you wish parents knew about technology. And so I'm springing this at you guys, <laugh>. Okay. But do you, do either of you have something that you wish every parent knew about screen time and a fostering healthy early childhood development?

Mindy Holohan (39:10):

I'll go first. <laugh>, you know, there's absolutely nothing better than the parents themselves or the caregivers themselves. Child development is very different than adult development and a child really. We have to trust that and watch it and learn from it. And, um, that can be such a relief. It can be such a relief to know that we don't have to keep up with all of this, um, you know, technological, you know, all the incoming devices and programs and apps and things. They don't need it. And, um, to the contrary, it, it can get in the way of, um, their core needs. It's hard because there's so much coming at parents that is are that's sending different, a different message mm-hmm. <affirmative> that they're not enough.

Hillary Wilkinson (40:45):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, right. Lauren, is there something that you could share that you wish every parent knew?

Lauren Paer (40:53):

Yeah, I would add, I would definitely second what Mindy just said, and I would add to it how important unstructured creative free play is for children. This is something I did not realize until I got interested in, in screens and it was sort of a backwards way to my education of child development. But to a normal adult, it kind of looks recreational like a little bonus. It's not, it's core to childhood. Uh, it is the basis for problem solving, for creativity, for self-discovery as they play with other children for interpersonal negotiations. Please understand how valuable and important that play is to, to your child and, and all young children.

Hillary Wilkinson (41:49):

Right. And I I love that you add in that component of unstructured play because I think in this very, you know, busy world that we live in, we're continually checking boxes. And it's like, if we're not like, okay, we're at soccer practice, we're doing this, we're doing that, somehow watching just unstructured hangout can almost be a little unsettling to parents cuz you feel like I'm not doing enough. But actually that is where some of the greatest development occurs.

Lauren Paer (42:26):

Absolutely. And yes, doing what's right for your child doesn't always have to be hard and it doesn't always have to involve you entertaining. Um, that's, in fact, letting your child do their own thing, as you just said, is so valuable to them. So I hope that that is a bit liberating.

Hillary Wilkinson (42:47):

So we have to take a short break, but when we come back, I'm going to ask our early childhood experts for their healthy screen habit.

Ad Break - HSH Website—-

Hillary Wilkinson (44:12):

We're back. I'm here with Lauren Paer and Mindy Holohan from the early childhood work group of the Screentime Action Network at Fair Play. Fun fact, Lauren hosted a show called Screentime Reset in her home state of Hawaii that you can still watch on YouTube. <laugh> and Mindy is a faculty member in the Family Science program in the College of Education and Human Development at Western Michigan University. So ladies, on every episode of the Healthy Screen Habits Podcast, I wanna give our listeners really something for their time. And this comes in the form of a healthy screen habit, which is a tip or takeaway that can be put into practice nearly immediately. Do you have a healthy screen habit to share with us today? 

Mindy Holohan (45:09):

Absolutely. Um, one that I have been working to practice myself is sharing with the people that I am with if I, if I need to be on my device, what it is I am doing and why I am on it. So, um, and I think that also is a wonderful practice, um, for young children because -they don't know. They just know that you're not, your attention is not with them. And so for them to have the clarity that, you know, I am, I will be right with you, but I need to look up this finished looking at this recipe, or I will be right with you. I'm just texting, you know, Dad to tell him we are out of milk. It, it can go such a long way in terms of how they are processing those interactions.

Hillary Wilkinson (46:14):

I love that practice. And I have found, so I'm a little bit further down the parenting road in that I have teenagers and what I appreciate is them reciprocating that. So when I'm talking to them, if like, say my daughter is texting some, she'll say she works in the neighborhood a lot, she walks dogs, she, we live in an area with a lot of horses. She takes care of stalls, et cetera. And she'll, she'll tell me, I'm just texting with so-and-so to confirm schedule for, and because I find myself getting super judgmental of when I see my kid on a phone.  So I love that because it goes both ways.

Mindy Holohan (47:03):

That's wonderful.

Hillary Wilkinson (47:14):

Lauren, do you have?

Lauren Paer (47:16):

My tip would be TV over tablets. And I am going to run through a few reasons very quickly why I think it is such a superior way to consume screens. The screen time that young children do consume. First it has a stable place so it doesn't feel like an appendage of theirs or that it follows them everywhere. Second, it's much easier for parents to keep tabs on what their children is watching. Third, it's more conducive to cuddling or physical interaction, whereas when you're holding a tablet, that is not the case. Fourth, it teaches children to share, especially if they have siblings. I know that was a big message of my childhood, which was filled with way too much TV, but I had to compromise with my brother and sister. And lastly, five, it creates a shared family culture. If you're consuming the same content you have inside jokes you have  um, common knowledge. And so it's funny to be promoting TV because it's not that TV doesn't have its issues, but I do think especially for young children, it is a superior, uh, screen then tablets.

Hillary Wilkinson (48:43):

Yeah, no, and I like that,  it falls in line with the being screen aware of knowing why you're consuming the screen time that or why you're using the screen time that you are and for what purpose. It still, it still keeps things very intentional.  As always, a link to the action kit and a complete transcript of this conversation can be found in today's episode Show notes! You get there by going to healthy screen habits.org, click on the podcast button at the top of the page and scroll down to find this episode. So Lauren, Mindy, this has been great. Thank you so much for all that you do for the Action Network. It really, your work just extends and extends and in advocating for our zero to five crowd who I just think needs the biggest cheerleaders. And thank you especially for sharing it here today.