Too Much Screen Time is Harming Children's Literacy Skills

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Author of 'Detoxing

Childhood' Sue Palmer

Too much screen time is harming children's literacy skills

Date of article: 10-Jan-13

Article By: Richard Howard, News Editor

Television should not be used as a parenting aid, according to a study by The American

Academy of Pediatrics, which found clear evidence of negative behaviour in children as a result

oftoo much exposure to screen time at a young age.

Studying the effects upon children at between 3 and 18 months of age, the Academy highlights

a range of possible long-term implications upon both mental and physical health.

For example: Maternal TV viewing and maternal obesity and infant activity, fussiness, and

crying were associated with greater infant TV exposure, whereas maternal education and infant

activity were associated with having the TV on during most meals. Infants perceived as being

more active or fussier had higher TV exposure, particularly if their mothers also had risk factors

for higher TV exposure.

Researchers warn there is a greater possibility of developmental delays, a more fragile state of

mental health, and a higher obesity risk due to lack of activity. The Academy urges parents not

to use TV viewing at all before two years of age, and even to limit exposure to 30 minutes a day

for the remainder of the early years.

Author and former primary school headteacher Sue Palmer is heavily-

involved in campaigning to increase public awareness on declining

literacy rates and the overexposure of children to screen technology,

including through her books Detoxing Childhood and 21st Century

Boys.

Having researched toxic childhood syndrome herself, Ms Palmer urges

day nurseries to Keep it real when organising their early years

curriculum, believing the rise of multiple screen technology not only

impedes upon childrens lifestyles but also contributes to the rise of

developmental disorders, such as attention deficit disorder, dyslexia,

autism and Aspergers syndrome.

She explains: Most scientists believe environmental influences can add

to the problem (in some children they might even create it). Theresresearch beginning to come through suggesting that an excessively screen-based culture could

play a part, particularly in the first few years when neural pathways are forming in the brain.

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One research study looked at how watching TV affected children under the age of two. For

every hour of TV they watched per day, there was a 9 per cent increase in attention deficit by

the time the child was seven. The researchers thought that rapid changes of image on TV could

make an immature brain go into overdrive so when the child looks away from the screen, real

life is boring.

A US study recently found a strong link between autism and the number of hours spent

watching TV by children under three. At the same time UK researchers were discovering that

six- to eight-year-olds now prefer to look at a blank screen rather than a human face.

Childrens laureate Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, is another writer concerned with

poor literacy rates in children, having recently criticised the Department for Educations reliance

on phonics-based reading tests, when speaking at a launch for short plays focused on improvingreading skills.

Mrs Donaldson called for a more versatile approach, saying: Any good teacher knows you need

a variety of ways of reading. She continued, It is important to learn the different sounds, and

teachers do their own checks. I think it is a bit patronising for teachers, while the government

underestimates how easily children can feel that theyre not quite up to scratch.

PM David Cameron attends last year's World Book Day

Another recent US study to raise similar concerns was carried out by Alliance for Children.

Research for Facing the Screen Dilemma: Young Children, Technology and Early Education was

conducted as part of a campaign for a commercial-free childhood with the aim of highlighting

the negative effects of what is considered to be unhealthy childrens entertainment.

To quote the findings: Based on mounting evidence, we are worried about the harm done to

childrens health, development, and learning in todays media-saturated, commercially-driven

culture. Its clear that both the nature of what children encounter on screens and the amount of

time they spend with screens are vital issues. We agree with the American Academy of

Pediatrics and other public health organisations that many young children are spending too

much time with screensand that screen time should be discouraged for infants and toddlers,

and carefully limited for older children.

In the interests of childrens well-being, we believe the early childhood community needs to

study the issues surrounding screen technologies, make informed decisions about their use in

classrooms and childcare settings, and work with parents to manage screen time and content in

ways that best serve young children.

The study also finds that new technologies, such as mobile phones and web-based innovations,

have not displaced television screen time but added to it, with the amount of exposure

increasing over the early years period as children grow and gain access to more alternatives.

The Alliance sees too much screen content as

encouraging more limited mental responses,impacting on creative thinking and even aspects of

humanity, for example: Games and digital

activities that limit children to a predetermined set

of responses have been shown to diminish

creativity. Exposure to media violence is linked to

aggression, desensitisation to violence, and lack of

empathy for victims.

Further issues listed include childhood obesity,

sleep disturbance, learning attention and social

problems.

Modern science confirms what the early childhood community has known for years that

infants, toddlers, and young children learn through exploring with their whole bodies, including

all of their senses. For optimal development, in addition to food and safety, they need love.

They need to be held, and they need plenty of face-to-face positive interactions with caring

adults. Developing children thrive when they are talked to, read to, and played with. They needtime for hands-on creative play, physically active play, and give-and-take interactions with

other children and adults. They benefit from a connection with nature and opportunities to

initiate explorations of their world.


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John Siraj-Blatchford, honorary professor at

the University of Swansea centre for child

research

Last year's World Book Day launch

In the last few decades, discoveries in the neurosciences have made clear why the early years

of life are so critical. The basic architecture of the human brain develops through an ongoing,

evolving and predictable process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood. Early

experiences literally shape how the brain gets built. A strong foundation in the early years

increases the probability of positive outcomes later. A weak foundation does just the opposite.

Current Ofsted guidelines state that computer use should not be permitted for children younger

than two years while for children two years and older in early care and early education

settings, total media time should be limited to not more than 30 minutes once a week, and for

educational or physical activity use only.

Speaking at a Booktrust event recently, childrens literature writer Dame Jacqueline Wilson

made a plea for parents to cherish reading time and what it might ultimately mean for adult life,

saying:

When I was a toddler, every child had free orange juice and cod liver oil. This was to nourish

our bodies. Now that we're caring about nourishing children's imaginations, I think it's equally

important.

Reading aloud to small children is the very best way of creating keen readers in adult life. We

know that a good book is a source of endless pleasure, a way of widening experience and

increasing understanding. It can be awe-inspiring, stimulating, comforting, astonishing a way

of travelling around the world indeed experiencing many fantasy worlds whilst curled up in

an armchair.

New technologies do have their defenders, however, and

honorary professor at the University of Swansea centre

for child research, John Siraj-Blatchford is keen to see

that a balanced approach unimpeded by generational

divides is adopted.

Explaining why he is keen to promote the use of mobile

touch screen technologies in early childhood, he says:

Because all the evidence points to it being the most

appropriate for young children in terms of accessibility,

and even more importantly in terms of play based

pedagogy.

That said I am sceptical of the technology digital

divide argument good technology is intuitive and

shouldn't require extended training or experience to

gain proficiency so children can catch up on that technology is also changing all the time and

new users often leapfrog over established users of old technologies.

But overwhelming evidence shows that a real divide in terms of learning and development is

significantly disadvantaging many children.

It is a literacy divide and caused by major differences in the quality of the early language and

literacy environment they grow up in. New technologies have significant potential in improvinglanguage environments for these disadvantaged children.

World Book Day,

organised by former

childrens librarians

Anne Marley, Annie

Everall and Naomi

Cooper, takes place on

7 March. Ms Everall

says: On the many

occasions that we have

organised events

bringing authors,

illustrators, poets and

storytellers together

with children, we have

seen the impact thatthe experience has had

on those taking part.

Other literacy focused

events taking place

throughout the year

include The Reading

Agencys Six Book Challenge and Childrens Book Week on May 1319.

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Too Much Screen Time is Harming Children's Literacy Skills