Does Screen Time Support Early Literacy Skills in Young Children?

Parents hear a lot of differing opinions on whether or not their very young child should be exposed to smartphones, tablets and the good old-fashioned TV. Like most things, the answer to “does screen time support early literacy skills” lies in the middle. The easy answer is yes and no.

Screens and digital tools can provide lots of benefits if they are used intentionally to support a learning curriculum such as math or science exploration or if they connect to content (with supervision) beyond their immediate surroundings, such as a live animal video feed at a Zoo, video chatting with grandpa, or playing a game with a friend that offers meaningful learning and social skills. Additionally, tuning into online read-aloud and eBooks or watching the latest episode of Sesame Street has some value (and can offer some snuggle time or just a moment to relax for mom and dad) when it comes to laying the foundation for reading and writing as they are exposed to new words, diverse characters and social-emotional concepts – as long as your child is not oversaturated in this content and does not result in fewer interactions with you and the family.

1. What is not supportive of your child’s overall well-being and development of early literacy skills in regard to digital media usage is allowing unrestricted and unsupervised access to screen time. Before you decide to introduce your child to technology, establish a media policy that you, your family and your caregivers will uphold. Some areas to include in your policy are:

2. What age will you introduce digital technology to your child?

3. Determine a daily maximum time limit for screen usage, and decide what categories fit into the limit. For instance, how long for watching a favorite show vs. playing a game? Does using learning apps or the camera have its own categories?

4. Will, or at what age do, you allow solo usage of media?

5. Establish a rating system to help others approve or disapprove of content your child may want to watch.

6. Where and when is media time okay? Keep phones and TVs away from meal times and instead interact with those around the table.

Another good rule of thumb is to model good digital media usage with your child. If you have limits on your child’s media consumption, be more intentional on how and for how long you use your own devices, especially in front of your child.

Too much media time has been shown to have negative consequences on young children including an increase in obesity, poor sleep quality, undesirable behaviors, and exposure to inaccurate, inappropriate and unsafe content.

More articles and resources to explore:

• Healthy Children: Beyond Screen Time: Help Your Kids Build Healthy Media Use Habits

• NAEYC: Technology and Interactive Media in Early Childhood Programs: What We’ve Learned from Five Years of Research, Policy, and Practice

• Common Sense Media: YouTube Kids Channels for Early Learning

• VeryWell Family: Best Educational Apps for Preschoolers

• Capella University: 10 Must-Have Literacy Apps for Early Child Educators