There is an increasing amount of studies developing on the effects screens have on children. Excessive screen time has been linked to poor educational achievement, self-regulation issues, attention deficits, behavioral issues, temperamental anger/frustration, and more.
Please note, I am NOT saying screen time will always lead to these issues. There is so much more that plays into it; like what type of content children are consuming, how much and for how long they are consuming it, what boundaries are set, etc. When possible, try and opt for slower paced, less stimulating shows. You can gauge the quality of a show based on the following...
What to Look for:
Slower paced: Count how many seconds pass in between jump cuts. The longer the better (i.e Cocomelon is typically ONLY 2 SECONDS!!!)
Muted/Natural color tones
No unnatural visual effects (like dancing fruit, swirling shapes, etc.)
Characters speak in normal voices
No loud and distracting music or sound effects
Rich storylines
What to Look for: Storytelling
Look for shows that tell an unfolding story using rich dialogue. These shows will often teach lessons of friendship, kindness, teamwork, etc., but in a way that is interwoven in the overall plot.
Storytelling...
Introduces new ideas
Promotes creative thinking
Enhances language development
Builds emotional intelligence
Helps teach moral values
Boosts listening skills
Increases culture of understanding
Sharpens memory
The Problem with Shows that Model Bad Behavior
A study lead by Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute, found that children who were exposed to more violent tv programming were significantly more aggressive throughout the 12 months of the study than the children exposed to prosocial programming. There are many similar studies showing the same.
Christakis DA, Garrison MM, Herrenkohl T, Haggerty K, Rivara FP, Zhou C, Liekweg K. Modifying media content for preschool children: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2013 Mar;131(3):431-8. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-1493. Epub 2013 Feb 18. PMID: 23420911; PMCID: PMC3581844.
There are many children’s programs with characters that model bad behavior like...
throwing fits when they don’t get what they want
jealousy, anger
making fun of others
talking back to parents / siblings
The goal of these shows is to teach a lesson through behavior correction.
These behaviors are natural for children, and it’s understandable for parents to want them to learn lessons from said behaviors. But it may be more beneficial for them to learn the lessons from real life.
Especially with younger children, they are usually unable to grasp the concept of the lesson. Instead, focusing on the bad behavior and normalizing it.
Behavior Correction Example:
In the “Daniel Can’t Ride the Trolley” episode of Daniel Tiger, Daniel goes to the grocery store with his mom. He really wants to ride the trolley, but his mom tells him no. He gets angry and throws a fit. He then sings a song about what to do when you can’t get what you want - in the original version it was “stomp three times.” Thankfully, they have since changed it to “take a deep breath.” But that still doesn’t guarantee the behavior isn’t what will stick out and be normalized to the viewer.
Storytelling Example
In the “Field of Flowers” episode of Guess How Much I Love You, Little Nutbrown Hare and Little Field Mouse find a beautiful field of flowers. They pick a bundle for Big Nutbrown Hare, and then are reminded to be mindful of how many they pick. They tell themselves they will just pick a few more for each of their friends, but before they know it all the flowers are gone. As they travel home they realize butterflies are following them, and that the butterflies need the flowers for nectar. They must figure out a way lead the butterflies to more flowers.
Better Shows to Choose From
AMAZON
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Guess How Much I Love You
Ellinor Wonders Why
Bug Diaries
Zoboomafoo
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
The Stinky Dirty Show
Molly of Denali
Tumble Leaf
Kipper
The Big Comfy Couch
Busy Town Mysteries
Stick Man
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Vooks Storytime
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Stellaluna
NETFLIX & DISNEY+
Puffin Rock (Netflix)
Trash Truck (Netflix)
Ada Twist, Scientist (Netflix)
Lucas the Spider (Netflix)
Sea of Love (Netflix)
Bear in the Big Blue House (Disney+)
Out of the Box (Disney+)
Nature Documentaries (Disney+)
Bluey (Disney+)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Disney+)
APPLE TV, PARAMOUNT, PEACOCK, PBS
Frog and Toad (Apple TV)
Duck and Goose (Apple TV)
The Velveteen Rabbit (Apple TV)
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse (Apple TV)
Little Bear (Paramount+)
Oswald (Paramount+)
Stella and Sam (Peacock)
Peep and the Big World (PBS)
Through the Woods (PBS)
Reading Rainbow (PBS)
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood (PBS)
YOUTUBE or CHECK LOCAL LIBRARY FOR DVDS
The Adventures of Abney & Teal
Jojo and Gran Gran
Tiny Wonders
Sarah and Duck
Dragon Tales
Franklin
The Busy World of Richard Scarry
The Gruffalo
Lily’s Driftwood Bay
Clangers
If I Were an Animal
Beatrix Potter: The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends
Sources:
Association of Television Viewing During Childhood With Poor Educational Achievement by Robert J. Hancox, MD; Barry J. Milne, MSc; Richie Poulton, PhD
Case control study found that primary language disorders were associated to screen exposure at 3.5‐6.5 years of age by Manon Collet, Bertrand Gagnière, C Rousseau, Anthony Chapron, Fiquet Laure, C Certain
Preschooler screen time and temperamental anger/frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic by Caroline Fitzpatrick 1 2, Marie-Andrée Binet 3, Elizabeth Harvey 4, Rachel Barr 5, Mélanie Couture 3, Gabrielle Garon-Carrier 3
Preschool Children's Visual Attention to Attributes of Television by Linda F. Alwitt, Daniel R. Anderson, Elizabeth Pugzles Lorch, Stephen R. Levin
Screen-time is associated with inattention problems in preschoolers: Results from the CHILD birth cohort study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6469768/
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