As we reach the end of the pandemic, some parents are changing the way they look at screen time.

There has always been a negative stigma surrounding screen time for children, with many parents setting screen time limitations and parental controls for content. However, the pandemic has forced many parents’ views on screen time and media consumption to evolve. Many have pushed aside the stigma, opting to relieve themselves of the constant worry by embracing devices’ benefits. Some are even picking up a controller alongside their gaming kiddo.

Before the pandemic (and at the beginning), most parents stressed about whether their child was getting too much screen time. Thank goodness for parental controls, right? Much of that mindset came from sources like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that suggested children under 2 avoid media use altogether, while preschoolers and older be limited one hour per day. The World Health Organization followed suit with similar advice. Interesting, though, there is limited research on the impact screen time has on our children. 

With the lifestyle craziness of the pandemic—working from home while homeschooling your child(ren)—those recommendations went right out the window. Kids were basically required to spend up to eight hours per day learning from screens, followed by limited entertainment within the confines of home quarantining. With in-person interaction restricted, playdates, camps and sports clubs were nonexistent. So, it became a necessity to leave kids with media alternatives including tablets, video games, television, smartphones and computers.

Now that parents have more freedom from that stress-inducing stigma, there may be no going back to constantly worrying about too many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or too many rounds of Minecraft. In a Los Angeles Times interview, Deborah Netburn explained how she went from worrying about her son’s video game playtime to embracing it with him, an experience that has been freeing, entertaining and bonding. 

Netburn told the LA Times: “My kids are great, I have really nice kids. And if they like playing video games, who cares? It made me see so clearly, because I felt like there was a problem and it made me see there’s really no problem there. Playing video games doesn’t mean you have a problem. Loving screen time doesn’t mean you have a problem.”

Similarly, other parents have been relieving themselves of the “parenting screen shaming” as Patti Woods of Today’s Parent calls it. Once an anti-screen mom, she now allows her child to have unlimited screen time, embracing his passion for video games and enabling him to self-regulate. Mom of two Melissa Petro told Business Insider her children are better off because of screen time, calling it an “act of resourcefulness.” She found tablets and educational games helped her son Oscar learn his letters, numbers, colors and shapes.

In addition to technology and media being great educational tools, they are also the future. Screens aren’t going away. In fact, every day they’re being integrated further and further into our lives: in schools, cars, businesses, homes and even appliances like refrigerators. Most careers also require screen use. With the technology industry exponentially growing, there will be many more jobs for young, tech-savvy video game and computer lovers.
With the future in mind, new concerns have arisen about limitations causing children to fall behind. So, how much is too much and too little? Where is that fine line?

As your child’s parent, that’s 100% your call to make—and we encourage you to never feel guilty about that decision. 

VIDA school is available to support your child’s virtual learning needs while you work from the comfort of our shared workspace. For more information, book a tour of our Portland office.