Notes

The AAP's Latest View

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), is changing its position on "screen time" or at at the very least, shifting its position into a digital age.



The AAP's upcoming revision to its policy statement was announced in October. It acknowledges that its current screen time guidelines are out of date. They are best known for banning screen time for children less than 2 years old, and for limiting screen time for older children and teens to two hours per day. Some of the advice given is older than widespread Internet use. Ari Brown, a pediatrician and chairperson of the AAP Children, Adolescents and Media Leadership Work Group, sent this email. "Our previous recommendations were made because there were enough developmental and health concerns about the possible dangers of television use to warn parents.



Schools are eagerly implementing technology wherever funding allows and that's not even including grade-school enrichment classes on coding software that allows kids to compose music on computers , and the overwhelming evidence that playing Minecraft can help children with autism, espousing strict minimization ignores the obvious. Today's children are "digital natives." Technology is in their blood.



The AAP's new perspective which is which is summarized in "Beyond turning off the TV How to guide parents about media use," sees TVs, computers, gaming systems, smartphones and tablets as mere tools. Spending time with them can be beneficial for kids or bad for kids, depending on how they're used.



The AAP made addressing children and media a top priority beginning in 2012, a focus that culminated in the May 2015 "Growing Up Digital" symposium. The symposium brought together experts from child development, pediatrics, social science, media, neuroscience and education, and brought attention to the growing amount of evidence that suggests the potential (and potentially significant) benefits of screen time in child and adolescent growth.



Brown reports that social scientists presented data at the symposium that showed teens can make connections online with peers. These connections with peers can be "significantly beneficial" and can be even more supportive than actual friendships.



She says the message is that there are many positive online opportunities for acceptance and encouragement to help teens build their self-esteem as well as identity.



Other insights revealed possible ways to enhance digital media's potential to teach. Neuroscientists, she says, presented research showing that 2-year-olds learn new words via video chat as they do by live chat, suggesting that it's the two-way communication that is most important. Technology that facilitates this back-and-forth is more likely to facilitate learning.



This is the issue: Giving an iPad to a 2-year old and then walking away is not going be enough to solve the problem.



Brown says that all of the experts agreed on the importance of co-engagement. Screen time is determined by parental involvement. Particularly for young children positive outcomes are dependent on "screen time" being "together time."



The potential for screen time to have an influence on children's lives is contingent on their parents, regardless of whether they are 3 or 13. The AAP recommends parents join their children in the digital world whenever possible and become familiar with their children's preferred media, even if they do not participate in the activities.



Parents should also establish guidelines on when, where, and for how long children can be on screens Establish "screen-free zones" (hint: dinner table) and obviously, ensure that all content is monitored. Screen time has its potential positive effects, but there are also potential risks.
Servers


Brown says that "Parenting is not changing." Brown says that the same rules apply to all the environments your child is in, whether at home, school tech, etc.



Although the AAP's latest policy statement on children and media won't be released until late in the year, Brown states that it will "acknowledge the gaps in research... take a look at the digital age as an opportunity to make the most of the possibilities and minimize risk." It will be practical and broad enough to be more constantly updated, so the policy will be able to keep pace with the latest tech thing."



Now That's Cool Kids with Autism have their own private Minecraft server. "Autcraft" allows them to enjoy all the developmental benefits of Minecraft without the bullying that occurs in the main Minecraft space.


Here's my website: https://minecraft-servers.fun/