What are some strategies that parents of young kids can employ for their kids to use media well?
I learned a lot from talking to other parents. For some parents, they would just make sure that they used the video at the same time every day — in the morning before breakfast, or when Dad is making dinner. It was an activity that you do in an encapsulated time period. Often the video is going when a parent is in the room. Yes, they might need to be on the phone, or they’re unloading the dishwasher. But they are still aware of what their child is seeing on-screen, and so they’re still making comments, when they can, about what the child is seeing. They’re still to some degree helping to do that pointing and labeling that we know is so helpful for kids. So, no, they’re not sitting on the couch 100 percent of the time in rapt attention. But what they are doing is: “Did you see the way that teddy bear shared his snack? Wasn’t that a nice thing to do?” I know that sounds simple, but those moments matter. What does the research say about how TV and computers contributes to obesity epidemi
