Is it just me? I understand that too much screen time is bad-especially if the child is suffering from obesity. However, kids need to know how to use technology. Why isn't that ever mentioned in these studies? A kid who grows up without learning how to use ipads, computers, smart phones, etc. will be at a disadvantage. I am not condoning kids using technology constantly. It should be in moderation. But I am sick of seeing all these studies like "TV BAD, COMPUTERS BAD, SCREEN TIME BAD." So again I ask, "Is it just me who is getting annoyed by all these studies that don't take the future into account?"
Here's the latest from THE NEW YORK TIMES:
Despite the American Academy of Pediatrics’ longstanding recommendations to the contrary, children under 8 are spending more time than ever in front of screens, according to a study scheduled for release Tuesday.
The report also documents for the first time an emerging “app gap” in which affluent children are likely to use mobile educational games while those in low-income families are the most likely to have televisions in their bedrooms.
The study, by Common Sense Media, a San Francisco nonprofit group, is the first of its kind since apps became widespread, and the first to look at screen time from birth. It found that almost half the families with incomes above $75,000 had downloaded apps specifically for their young children, compared with one in eight of the families earning less than $30,000. More than a third of those low-income parents said they did not know what an “app” — short for application — was.
“The app gap is a big deal and a harbinger of the future,” said James Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, which had 1,384 parents surveyed this spring for the study. “It’s the beginning of an important shift, as parents increasingly are handing their iPhones to their 1 ½-year-old kid as a shut-up toy. And parents who check their e-mail three times on the way to the bus stop are constantly modeling that behavior, so it’s only natural the kids want to use mobile devices too.”
-NewsAnchorMom Jen
