As a parent of children at a Steiner School I'm often sent reminders that young students should not be exposed to television or computer games. June was their 'screen-free' month.
Some of their argument is that digital media interferes with childhood brain development as it "rewires the brain". There are numerous scientific studies to back this up, but what this means for the long-term we'll probably only grasp retrospectively.
As a creator of digital media this is a dilemma - what's the right balance of screen-time and sand-pit play for kids?
Perhaps we are worrying too much. According to a recent report1 "Young people have not increased the total time they spend using computers and mobile phones in the past 12 years" (NZ Herald).
My own observation (over 15 years in the industry and 9 years as a parent), is that digital media is beneficial in the right doses.
Researchers Din and Calao concluded in 20012 that "computer-related technology use plays a positive role in young children's social, psychological, cognitive and academic development". And that was before the advent of activity-based gaming such as the Nintendo Wii, which has a focus on sport and fitness.
As with most things, it's not the thing at fault, it's how we use it.
This was reinforced by a show which screened on TV One last week, 'Child of Our Time'. It followed 24hrs in the life of different UK children.
Many of the children had long days, including school and sport. But once home it seemed like much of the "activity" revolved around television or computer games, and usually without parent supervision. So the problem here is actually the parents not being able to find time to spend with their kids and supervising their digital activities.
I think one of the most dangerous things about television are the TV-program previews which often contain disturbing imagery and spring-up in timeslots I'm certain many kids are watching. So as a parent I'm selective in what we let our children watch.
In fact, Jane and the Dragon and Country Calendar are about it for my kids.
Jane and the Dragon is genuinely a fantastic kids programme. It has great storytelling, is well animated and taps into kids humour without the need to be obvious or garish. Country Calendar is educational (it also tells a story), has a refreshingly slow pace and my kids love it.
So, if more television programmes and computer games for kids actually had educational goals and a good storyline, would that be a more positive experience for kids?
References
(1) Children rank the great outdoors above TV
(2) The Educational Benefits of Video Games
