Swap Toddler Screen Time For Face-to-face Time

Have you ever watched a toddler on a smart phone or tablet and been amazed by her ability to swipe, navigate and brilliantly figure out the educational tools? With good intentions, we place screens in front of toddlers, assuming that they can learn something when in fact, screens do not help young children develop their thinking skills.

- Melanie Hempe

Without question, toddlers are very bright. At age 3, a child’s brain is twice as active as an adult brain. When he or she is interacting with a screen, however, you are witnessing what brain scientists call an orienting response or reflex, not signs of budding intelligence. A cat that swipes at a fish on his screen (yes, there are such things as cat apps) has the same reflex. A toddler simply responds to the novel or significant stimuli of the bright lights and sounds. The key to stimulating a child’s developing brain is simpler — and cheaper — than an expensive piece of technology. Here is what your child needs more than screens.

Spoken Words