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Ah, iphones, TV, computers, and videogames. How parents love – hate you.
They love that you give them a little bit of a break. But parents hate the guilt that you often bring.
A HYBRID SOLUTION
In all seriousness, like with any aspect of life, with parenting, technology can be a boon and a curse.
But there might be a way to get the best of both worlds. That is, children can get the benefit of having an attentive adult, and the learning from the television program. Parents can get a break… but they can also have control.
Here is the solution: talk to your kids about what they are watching or playing.
WHY TALKING ABOUT TV OR GAMES WORKS
Yes, talking about a television show or about a game doesn’t afford a complete break to parents, like just turning on the TV and leaving.
But if a parent is involved in a child’s use of technology, then the technology can become a tool for increased communication, increased learning, and increased generalization of learned skills.
When a parent talks about what is seen on the screen, the parent can use the screen as a guide on what to talk about. They can further enrich the material displayed, by adding perspectives and information. They can encourage the child to interact with the material, listening to other perspectives, and then adding their own perspectives.
Essentially : if you are talking about what is on the screen, you are getting the best of both worlds.
You are getting the educational content and the fun that the screen often provides.
But you are also getting communication and interaction with your child, which is crucial to early social skills development and early learning. You are also talking more to your child. And the more words a child hears in his earlier years, the better his language will be.
HOW TO DO IT
1. Watch the show or game with your child.
You don’t have to give it 100% attention if you cannot. Peel carrots, fold laundry, whatever is needed. Just make sure you know what is happening
2. Take breaks
If you’re watching old school TV, mute at commercials. If you’re on the iPad, take a break every 10 minutes
3. During the breaks, talk to your child about what you just watched
Cater your talk to your child’s age. If he’s 1 -2, baby talk 1-3 word phrases, slow and clear. For example – “was that Big Bird? Cute Big Bird. He’s yellow.”
If the child is older, you can increase complexity. For a five – year-old you can try something with 5-7 words, like, “Elsa’s feeling really sad, huh?” or “ I think they were mean to her.”
Continue with older kids, when the material will probably get more interesting, and you will have more interesting comments to make.
4. Ask your child questions
The regular wh questions work well. Who did we just see? Where was he? When will he go home? What is he eating? Why are they happy?
Give your child adequate time to answer, and pepper your questions with observations and comments of your own.
5. Recap what happened after the show / movie / game is over
Sequencing is a great language and pre-reading skill, as is telling simple
narratives.
Try something like “First the caterpillar hatched. Then he ate food. Last he felt sick.”
For kids in preschool / elementary school, you can teach the elements of a story – through modeling, of course. They are not quite old enough to be able to label the elements. “Once upon a time…” is the setting. “But there was a mean witch” is the conflict. “The prince went to the forest to rescue the princess” is the rising action. “He fought the evil witch” is the climax. “And they lived happily ever after” is the resolution.
6. Repeat during every commercial / advertising break
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Voila! If you follow the steps above, you will successfully diminish the cons of screentime while boosting its pros.
It might not be as much of a break as sitting somewhere else while your children watch. But the benefits to a child’s language and learning are worth the extra effort.
Plus, turning on a Youtube video is much less work than making a Pinterest craft, if you are crunched for time ;)
Happy Talking!
Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.
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