Sometimes being a parent means watching the same video one too many times. But a parent’s got to do what a parent’s got to do.
In Wednesday’s Family section, John Burgin, associate professor of early childhood education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, says television, movies and videos “too often become baby sitters.” But when parents creatively engage, watching how children respond, electronic stories become building blocks in a child’s development.
“Children need interaction with other children or adults,” Burgin says. “Doing something with others helps them learn to solve problems and integrate experiences … and build their attention span.” So there should be limits on daily screen time. But when the family shares in screen time together, great things can happen.
Parents who actively watch what their kids watch, he says, can “bring reality into fantasy.”
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.