Welcome to an engaging exploration of how young children can thrive in the digital age. I’m Jennifer Ehal, and alongside my colleague Vicki Saylor, we’re part of the education outreach and family engagement teams at Common Sense. Today, we’re excited to share insights from our workshops designed for families with children aged 0 to 8. These workshops are crafted to help families navigate the digital world effectively, ensuring healthy development for young kids.
As educators, we recognize the critical role families play in a child’s development, especially in today’s tech-driven world. Children are interacting with media and technology at increasingly younger ages, making it essential to have early conversations about screen time and media quality. These discussions are crucial because the first eight years of a child’s life are vital for brain development, influencing skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.
Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive abilities that develop from childhood into early adulthood. These skills include working memory, self-control, focus, communication, and self-regulation. They are foundational for success in school and life. Our workshops aim to harness media and technology to nurture these skills in young children.
Our toolkit is divided into six workshops, each focusing on different aspects of media and technology’s impact on executive functioning skills. We emphasize the importance of balancing screen time with offline activities, as both are crucial for a child’s development. Topics covered include media balance, family connections during media use, online safety, and selecting high-quality media.
One of the key strategies we introduce is the “MEALS” acronym, which stands for Model, Engage, Adjust, Limit, and Support. This framework helps parents visualize a healthy balance between online and offline activities. By co-using media with children, parents can foster brain development and life skills like empathy and critical thinking.
Our toolkit is available under the Common Sense Education tab in the family engagement resources section. It’s designed for anyone working with families and is accessible in both English and Spanish. We encourage you to schedule these workshops at convenient times, such as back-to-school periods or holiday breaks, to maximize participation.
We’re thrilled to offer this valuable resource to families and early childhood providers. By facilitating conversations about digital citizenship, we aim to empower families to make informed decisions regarding media use. This session, along with all the resources discussed, is available on our Common Sense Education YouTube channel. We invite you to share this toolkit with anyone working with families of young children.
Thank you for joining us on this journey to support healthy development in the digital age!
Engage in a simulated workshop where you role-play as both the educator and a parent. This activity will help you understand the dynamics of family engagement and the importance of early conversations about screen time. Reflect on how you can apply the “MEALS” framework in real-life scenarios.
Analyze a case study of a family navigating media use with young children. Identify the challenges they face and propose strategies based on the toolkit’s principles. This will enhance your problem-solving skills and deepen your understanding of media’s impact on child development.
Select a range of children’s media and evaluate their quality using the criteria discussed in the article. Consider factors like educational value, age-appropriateness, and engagement. Share your findings with peers to foster a discussion on selecting high-quality media.
Design a mini-workshop focused on developing executive functioning skills through media and technology. Create activities that parents can do with their children to enhance skills like self-regulation and communication. Present your workshop plan to the class for feedback.
Participate in a group discussion about digital citizenship and its role in healthy child development. Explore how families can make informed decisions about media use and the importance of balancing online and offline activities. Share insights and strategies from the toolkit to enrich the conversation.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
Welcome, everyone! We’ll be starting shortly. Welcome to “Young Kids and Screens: A Healthy Development in the Digital Age.” My name is Jennifer Ehal, and joining me today is my colleague Vicki Saylor. We’re part of the education outreach and family engagement teams at Common Sense. In today’s session, we’re going to highlight Common Sense’s workshops for families with kids ages 0 to 8. We’re so glad you’re here! This session will be recorded and found on the Common Sense Education YouTube channel, so we invite you to subscribe for access to all of our wonderful professional development resources.
Let’s get started! Hi, Vicki!
Hi, Jennifer! How are you?
I’m good, thank you! I’m really excited about this topic. It’s so important, especially for our youngest children. I didn’t realize that Common Sense had everything you need to host enriching workshops for parents. We do so much for families in terms of resources, but this idea of turnkey resources for families to run their own engagement sessions is very intriguing to me. I’m glad you’re here to share this important toolkit with us.
Thank you, Jennifer! It is such an important topic. As educators, we know how vital it is to engage families to build relationships with them. We’re also finding that kids are using media and tech at younger ages, so having those conversations early is even more important.
Absolutely! Many people often say they don’t know what to do or how to navigate these conversations, especially when it comes to screen time and the quality of media that children are consuming. When kids are little, it can be more challenging to navigate these waters. Could you share some reasons behind the importance of this?
Of course! As early educators, we know that the first eight years are critical for brain growth in young children. They’re using media and tech at younger ages, which can affect their executive functioning skills. Research shows that kids with stronger executive functioning skills are more likely to be successful in school and beyond. Our goal is to help kids be happy, healthy, and successful in life, so we want to start early and use media and tech to develop those skills.
You mentioned executive functioning skills, which we know is a familiar term for early educators. Can you remind us what that includes?
Absolutely! Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive skills that develop through childhood and into our 20s. They allow children to become good problem solvers and critical thinkers. These skills include working memory, self-control, focus, taking turns, getting along with others, communicating, remembering information, and self-regulation.
Even as adults, we focus on these skills all the time, right? So how does this tie into media and technology, and why is it so important?
We’ve divided the toolkit into six different workshops that address how media and tech can affect executive functioning skills and what parents and caregivers can do to help develop those skills while using media and tech. We also emphasize the importance of balancing screen time with offline activities, as creating and playing offline is essential.
Each of these six workshops covers topics like media balance, making connections with family during media use, online safety, and the importance of using high-quality media. We want to help parents understand how to choose the right media and how to engage with their children while using it.
As a parent or caregiver, it’s essential to navigate these discussions effectively. Families want to ensure they’re making good decisions regarding media balance and safety. I appreciate that these workshops set families up for success.
Exactly! We start with conversations about safety, discussing what to share and what not to share online. Then we focus on the quality of media, teaching families how to find high-quality content. After that, we talk about media balance and how to navigate screen time appropriately.
It’s a challenging topic for families, especially when it comes to determining how much screen time is appropriate for their child. We want to emphasize quality over quantity while still addressing the importance of a balanced approach.
Absolutely! We want to highlight the benefits of co-using media with children, as it can foster brain development and life skills like critical thinking and empathy. Engaging with children while watching shows can lead to meaningful discussions about feelings and situations.
I love that this toolkit brings these concepts to life. It’s easy to talk about media balance, but having tangible activities makes it more accessible for families.
One of the activities we discuss is the “MEALS” acronym, which stands for Model, Engage, Adjust, Limit, and Support. This helps parents visualize a healthy balance of online and offline activities.
Thank you for sharing that! It’s a great way to help families remember these strategies. Where can people find this toolkit?
We have a landing page for the toolkit under the Common Sense Education tab, specifically in the family engagement resources section. These workshops are designed for anyone working with families and are available in both English and Spanish.
Make sure to grab that landing page link from the chat! We encourage you to think about when to schedule these workshops, whether during back-to-school time or holiday breaks.
Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing this valuable resource. It’s one of the few resources available for young kids and media, and we’re grateful to have it for our families and early childhood providers.
Absolutely! We wanted to provide something for early childhood educators, and we’re happy to offer these resources to facilitate conversations about digital citizenship.
Thank you all for joining us! Please share this toolkit with anyone working with families of children ages 0 to 8. This session was recorded and will be available on our Common Sense Education YouTube channel, where you can find all the links and resources discussed today.
Thank you again, everyone!
Children – Young human beings below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority – In pediatric healthcare, understanding the unique needs of children is crucial for effective treatment and care.
Development – The process of growth or improvement, especially in terms of physical, mental, or social capabilities – Monitoring the development of cognitive skills in adolescents can help educators tailor their teaching strategies.
Media – Various channels of communication, such as television, radio, and the internet, that disseminate information to the public – Health professionals must critically evaluate media sources to provide accurate information to their patients.
Technology – The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry and healthcare – The integration of technology in medical training has enhanced the learning experience for professional students.
Critical – Involving careful judgment or evaluation, especially in the context of decision-making – Critical analysis of research data is essential for developing effective healthcare policies.
Thinking – The process of considering or reasoning about something, often involving problem-solving and decision-making – Encouraging reflective thinking in medical students can improve their diagnostic skills.
Skills – The ability to do something well, often gained through training or experience – Developing communication skills is vital for healthcare professionals to effectively interact with patients.
Families – Groups of individuals related by blood, marriage, or a sense of belonging, often considered as a unit in social and healthcare contexts – Involving families in the treatment process can significantly improve patient outcomes.
Engagement – The act of being involved or committed to a particular activity or cause – Patient engagement in their own healthcare decisions leads to better adherence to treatment plans.
Balance – The state of maintaining equilibrium or stability, especially between different aspects of life or work – Healthcare professionals must find a balance between work responsibilities and personal well-being to prevent burnout.
