Concerns about “Screen Time”

We know that there are questions and concerns about “screen time” for our students and because we believe in our educators and the quality of live instruction that they provide, we wanted to find out more. 

We reached out to Kris Calvin, CEO American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), California to find out how the screen time guidelines would apply to live instruction during distance learning. Calvin said “The screen time guidelines were not informed by the unique circumstances that we now find ourselves in with the pandemic and it would not be appropriate to apply them without consideration of other factors now.”

AAP Guidelines for Media Use: What are they anyway?

Under normal circumstances: 

• For children younger than 18 months: Avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing.
• For children ages 2 to 5 years: Limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.
• For children ages 6 and older: Place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health. 

The AAP has relaxed its media use guidelines during COVID and even recommended that school districts help connect families to WiFi and devices, which we are in Sac City Unified. AAP recommends “Parents can take steps to ensure that this media use is positive and helps the family and community.”