to screen or not to screen
the whole dilemma of whether or not to let kids watch tv or use screens is familiar to me. i didn’t grow up with cable, we occasionally watched movies-which eased into frequently watched movies but did not watch commercial television. This wasn’t for religious reasons-my dad said that he didn’t want us watching commercials. My sisters said my parents got rid of the tv after the OJ infamous drive, though. who knows what the actual reason was all i know is i used to run to the couch at my friend’s houses to watch whenever I could. I love love loved tv and movies. and I still do. the commercials bother me and I can understand why they can be harmful. constant brainwashing and subliminal messaging convincing kids and adults that they need to buy xyz. but the discussion is much much bigger than commercials now.
the dilemma these days is “screen time” which can mean ipads, phones, tv’s, laptops, computers and whatever else is out there. For some, it’s the dilemma of whether or not we let our kids be connected to a different realm, a different reality-fast moving images filled with color and dialogue and unlike the reality we live outside the screen. for some, it’s whether or not we let our kids be exposed to values that are not our own-be it religiously or others. Some are worried about the health and development of their children.
from my vantage point as a teacher I see the ease, and absolute perfection of having a screen on for the children. The whole world of the classroom-the chaos goes silent. so easy. so so easy.
i made it a point to rarely ever use screens in the classroom-not for movement breaks and not for lessons. It was made available to me increasingly over the years but it just felt like cheating. and especially when i knew kids were watching tv or ipads at home it felt like the least i could do to help to restrict the screen time at school, even if it was “educational” it just felt like a silly “innovation”
I used to sing and play guitar for the kids and we’d have a great “movement break” but then the same kids would be overjoyed if i put on a kids website with videos for movement instead of me. playing guitar. in person. Now, I know that they loved singing with me, and I them, it was just different. It’s another world. The screen and the quickness and the digitized images, it’s all so exciting and rich! So, if I wanted it to be easier for me and to get the kids super quiet and “calm” super fast-screen time.
That brings me to my next point-it was harder to rely on myself for our lessons and on myself for our movement breaks, but they were much much much more rewarding for the children and much more regulating with a deeper type of learning.
It was harder. but it was my job.
there were times when i felt so burnt out from the many many expectations as a teacher that I let the kids use the screen for movement breaks.
this is a fraction of my story-my little view of the subject of moments of feeling utterly exhausted and needing the screen for the kids even if just for a few minutes.
and then i think of parents dealing with this decision, daily struggle and maybe even incentive program at their child’s schools to disconnect from screens. how exhausted are they? what are their many many many expectations that they are dealing with as they feel utterly exhausted and resolving to let their kids watch?
the guilt that i have seen bubble up and fester over the years. parents feeling so bad about letting their kids watch.
“Ms. Julie what are your thoughts on screen time?” read as: Ms. Julie is it ok if my kids watch a lot of tv? Are they going to be ok? Am I a bad parent?
These same parents do everything they can to pay for their kids to have nice, clean clothes, tasty snacks that are healthy and/or something their kids will actually eat, programming for their kids to have after school, camp, fun activities on Sundays and more!
parents of today are overwhelmed and overworked and dealing with absolutely crazy times in every possible direction. and then they are supposed to monitor screen time sometimes down to having none at all? no way. there is no way that anyone should judge parents on this matter.
each situation is unique and just so incredibly delicate. i almost would venture to say it is more important to let kids watch tv for longer than is advisable as long as the parents feel good and empowered as parents-because having less tv but feeling too drained and unhappy to parent from a healthy place could be worse.
i also think that we are trying to stick a pin in a MUCH larger issue when we want to restrict screen time.
what about the screen time of the parents? our world is moving so incredibly fast these days, screens are everything to us now-we can’t just "limit” or “stop” screens or just “incentivize” less screen time without evaluating the whole picture. how is the dynamic in the home? do the parents have enough time to themselves? how is the weather in the area? is it safe for outside play temperature wise-safety in the neighborhood wise? what types of jobs do the parents have? are they on their phones, computers, ipads, tv’s frequently?
When we try to just willy nilly monitor tv or restrict it and therefore make people feel guilty and bad as parents we are inflicting pain and damage to those raising the next generation. the research is ever changing and though i am not a proponent of massive amounts of screen time I am very aware of the reality of our digitized world. it’s our news, our driving directions, our research tool, how we order food and a taxi, how we call and video chat with family and so much more. There are many pros to screens and to demonize them is just the wrong way to go.
be wary-not just in how much you watch but the way you go about limiting what you or your children watch. we are living within a story, within a very fast paced-screen filled time. it’s amazing and crazy and revolutionary and at times debilatating all at the same time.
thanks to said screens we also know way too much about the horrors allover the world all the time-i’m watching the news on the fall of the assad regime in Syria as I write this. it’s empowering to know so much so quickly and also very scary and unnatural. let’s not be so hard on ourselves. we’re constantly dealing with a lot and so are our kids.
