ECCS Community Cafe: The Impact of Screen Usage on Children and Families
On May 23, 2024, the Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington hosted their second Community Cafe. The discussion was about the impact of screen usage on children and families. Thank you to the ECCS Parent Ambassadors, Betsy and Jessica for helping to organize this event.
The goals were to:
- Learn about the association between screen time exposure in children and Autism Spectrum Disorder, lower Fine and Gross Motor development, emotional avoidance and addiction
- Discuss how adult usage of screens impacts children in their care
- Learn about recommendations of screen usage from the American Academy of Pediatricians
- For childcare centers, learn about recommendations. by age. from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
- Discussion of struggles, alternatives activities and sample materials you can take home.
This free event was funded by a grant from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood as administered by the Connecticut Children’s Collective (CTCC).
View the materials:
- Cafe Presentation May 2024
- American Academy of Pediatrics – recommendations, research, resources and Family Usage Plan tool
- A joint position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning, and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College.
- About Sparkler and registration codes for Southington
Betsy showed off the to-go kit she uses for her children. It contains materials and activities they can do in the car, a restaurant or the store. She encouraged parents to participate with their children instead of getting on their own phones.
