Comments on: Parental Burnout and a Reasonable Approach to Screens (with Dr. Meghan Owenz)

By: Jessie

Jessie — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 14:21:05 +0000

First and foremost I totally appreciate the information and insight re: the challenges many parents have experienced during the pandemic and those without, a “village”. I also appreciate that children on the Autism Spectrum were considered. Unfortunately we’ve relied heavily on screen time with my child as she doesn’t have the attention, play skills, and interests, similar to traditionally developing child. I often lack the knowledge and skills myself to know how to help her. The wait list for these specialized service are often 1-2 years long. Early Intervention services aren’t enough. Parents and children in these situations are suffering. There is limited information out there to assist beyond screen time. Would you have any advice?

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 00:51:27 +0000

I’m wondering if you could talk about how to introduce screens when the time comes. My two kids (ages 5 and 3) have been screen-free until my older son entered kindergarten this year where he has seen his first tv shows and movie 🙁 Now he’s interested in seeing more and while I’m not planning to introduce anything just because he’s asking, I do feel like he deserves more than the “not yet” I’ve been telling him for a while now. And we are trying to figure out our plan moving forward. Thanks!!

By: Mary Angelica

Mary Angelica — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 16:59:11 +0000

Question: is any kind of screen time bad, or mostly screen time that is media consumption or games for kids? What happens when you are a work from home parent whose work is largely done from a computer? I do a lot of programming for work, and before that I spent my days typing grad school work and my dissertation.

I have my three month old with me during my work days which for now isn’t much of a problem. But I still have to put inn a few hours by the time my toddler is home. There was a point in which the toddler was watching stuff up to an hour a day, and with the help of dad we were able to cut it down, but certain times dad isn’t there.

There comes a point where my eldest just wants to be with me, having not seen me all day. Since grad school, what I have done is set up an old computer or tablet without internet connection and opened up a word document, paint app, or calculator to play with. He learned to type, maneuver the apps, etc. The paint app on the tablet was how he learned to write letters, explore colors, etc. as well. I’d check on him repeatedly since he was right next to me, and he got to feel like he was doing “work”. I figured that if I made computers something to master rather than merely for passive entertainment, I could avoid many of the pitfalls of screen time for children in a world full of screens while teaching him that the computer is to be used as a tool rather than for mere pleasure.

Is this sort of thing ok to do, or is there something about screens that makes this also a bad idea?

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 19:33:57 +0000

This is definitely relative for me, thank you for sharing.

By: Meghan Owenz

Meghan Owenz — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 13:57:44 +0000

In reply to Amanda Anderson. Hi Amanda, I am a huge fan of AudioBooks for kids. They are less overstimulating without the visual component, build listening comprehension, and are easier for children to walk away from. Continue to monitor for content - selecting audio content that is appropriate for your child, including length. I also suggest using audiobooks in a fashion that your child can independently control (i.e., Using actual CDs that they put in a player and press play).

By: Amanda Anderson

Amanda Anderson — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 17:00:33 +0000

Great podcast! I am curious what Dr. Meghan Owenz’s thoughts are on AudioBooks? Does this have the same impact since there is no visual component?

By: janet

janet — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 03:43:49 +0000

In reply to Emily.

Not aspirational at all. It’s about the habits we develop and we can make changes at any time. Observing play is optional and can be a few minutes here and there. Independent play time should mostly be parents’ downtime or chore time, etc. Here’s another post that explains: https://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/07/a-creative-alternative-to-baby-tv-time/ One of the keys is creating a safe place for your baby to be.

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 03:30:38 +0000

Huh. So the solution to parental burn-out is no screens until five? How many families actually follow that?
Re: burnout and the RIE ‘solution’ (independent play), to what extent is that really downtime for a parent? My understanding is that we’re also supposed to be observing their play. And with a baby and a toddler (my current situation), independent play where I’m not referee’ing and making sure the baby isn’t getting stomped on is practically non-existent.
More generally, RIE’s solutions usually seem very, very aspirational to me. This is just yet another example of that.