RTV# 16 Balance Screen Time!

A Year of Raising the Village: Week #16. How Balanced is our Screen Time? Who is sitting in front of a screen right now? Chances are, if you are reading this, you are! Have you ever tracked the number of hours you spend face to face with a screen (TV's, cell's, iPod's, iPad's, computers etc.)? The number might surprise you and send a message about what kind of balance you currently hold between face to face screen time and face to face connecting-with-the-rest-of-the-world time. Why not set a challenge and see if you can reduce the time spent in front of the screen and encourage the children and families you know to do the same?!

Call it a celebration... that is what one initiative is doing this very week. April 18th to 24th is Screen Free Week. Turn off screens and Turn on Life! Check out http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/why.htm Technology is not all bad - but it takes a balanced and informed approach to reap the benefits while leaving behind the rest (for children, teens AND adults!) Here are a few more bits and pieces that ring the "pay attention bell" to how much plugged in time we take in:

• Based on an analysis of brain development literature during early childhood, research concludes that heavy computer use prior to age seven may generate in diminished language skills, interpersonal difficulties and an inability to play symbolically. (Jane Healy, 1998, Failure to Connect: How computers affect our children's mind - and what we can do about it.)

• Check out this is a fascinating TED Talk by Patricia Kuhl looking at linguistic abilities of babies. There is one part of the research that compares learning from a person (live) and learning from the same person but on a screen. Guess what the result was? Nothing from a screen and significant from person to person interaction. http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies.html

Village Raising Question: What does your screen balance look like? (and what are you going to do about it?)