Zero to Five: Eeny, Meeny, Mighty Tech

From cribs to iPotties and iPads, very young children are increasingly interacting with digital devices or are exposed to screens. Is this bad? After almost two years of pandemic life and its heavy toll on everyone’s mental health including those of young mothers – our reliance on technology is even more pervasive and ubiquitous. But what are the effects of increased early screen exposure on infants, babies, toddlers and preschoolers? What happens to the foundational cognitive, psychosocial, emotional and physical developmental needs during the critical first five years that may be challenged or enhanced by media?  Children and Screens’s Ask the Experts webinar “Zero to Five: Eeny, Meeny, Mighty Tech” webinar on Wednesday, February 9th addressed these critical questions. 

Kicking off a trilogy about technology’s effects across childhood’s ages and developmental stages, a fascinating conversation was held by the world’s leading experts on topics on the minds of many parents, educators, clinicians, and researchers today such as screen time, technoference, apps, games and programs, parental controls and parasocial relationships (relationships with characters). A hand-picked interdisciplinary group answered all of your burning questions about tots and tech, such as: When is the best time to start my little one on digital media?, How much media is okay? and, How do I choose the best apps for my young child? How should I be parenting my toddler at this stage?