POP! Parents of Preschoolers: Screen Time

I've been writing a bit about the revamped caregiver engagement programming that we've been offering at my library. It's called POP! Parents of Preschoolers, and it's a bimonthly program for parents of young children to a) grow their support network with other parents of young children, b) build new skills and confidence in parenting topics, and c) see the library as a place that supports their role as parents.

In November, I facilitated a POP! program on the topic of Screen Time--specifically new media (like tablets and smartphones), although we did talk about television, too. After a bit of social time in which the attending parents and I chatted about their kids, what the kids like to do, and questions about media, I shared some information from experts followed by some recommendations for screen time and their preschool-age children. We also ended the last fifteen minutes of the program with a hands-on exploration of some exemplary apps. Here's what we discussed.

Expert Recommendations

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, co-engagement counts when it comes to media use. That means using media along with your child, for example in the same ways that you would read a book together. Additionally, parents should be aware that screen-free playtime is important, too, and make time to engage in that type of open play.

According to Lisa Guernsey, author of Screen Time and Tap Click Read, parents should consider the 3 Cs when considering media use: Content, Context, and the Child. Content refers to the specific type of media and what it includes. Context refers to how, when, and why the media is being used--for example, because a child wants to look at pictures of zoo animals or because a child appears bored. The child refers to the parent's knowing their child and their needs best, and making media decisions with their child in mind.

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center, the media use should be active, hands-on, engaging, and empowering.

When using media with a young child (age 2-5)...

Choose high-quality apps. This means avoiding distracting noises and actions, glitchy performance, and in-app purchases. A good rule of thumb for quality is whether you, the adult, can stand to use it with your child for five minutes or more.

Use media together. Children learn through interaction, so the process of reading, playing, and creating together allows them to learn new concepts, new words, and how media work.

Build relationships using media. Commemorate family outings, videochat long-distance relatives, and work together to strengthen bonds.

Don't be too hard on yourself. There are lots of messages out there about children and screen time. Remember that you know your child best, and that occasional screen time that isn't ideal isn't the end of the world.

Tips for Reading, Playing, and Creating Together with New Media

Ask questions when you read a digital story. For example, ask, "What do you think will happen next?"

Reread a favorite digital story together and tell it yourself.

Practice saying new words and learn their meanings while you read digital stories.

Explore new experiences using media, including ones you couldn't ordinarily have in your everyday life (like looking at pictures of desert animals if you live in a temperate area, etc.).

Videochat faraway friends.

Record your child telling a story or talking about a creation.

Make a photo show of pictures from a family outing.


~~*~~

This program, at its core, is an example of media mentorship: it equips parents with expert information about young children and screen time, effectively allowing them to make the best possible decisions about screen time for their children and their family. I emphasized that every family and every child is different, so what screen time looks like at one house may not resemble what it looks like at another. And that's fine--what's important is that parents feel confident in making choices they feel are right for them and their families. And based on the post-program surveys, the parents who attended POP! Parents of Preschoolers: Screen Time did feel more confident in doing so following the program.

Librarianship on YouTube: An Intro to Media Mentorship

Last Friday, I made a virtual appearance in New York. It wasn't a webinar--I wasn't available to do a live talk at the time the requesting librarians had specified. Instead, I put together a video on the topic they'd asked me to discuss: media mentorship.

Now, there are plenty of resources online pertaining to media mentorship--no small amount of them through ALSC, available here--but I, too, often prefer to listen to someone talk about a topic rather than just read about it. So here it is: a video that introduces the concepts and implications of youth library staff as media mentors. If you've been looking for an intro but don't have an hour to dedicate to a webinar, this 17-minute video might be for you.

What It Means to Me to Be a Media Mentor

I consider myself a pretty competent desk worker. When I'm on the youth services "Ask Questions Here" desk at my library, I genuinely enjoy advisory questions--it's a joy to get great materials into the hands of eager youth. I get a rush from a good reference query; it's like a sort of logic puzzle to find the specific resource or information that the child or caregiver seeks. And I feel like my natural curiosity serves me well in my job: I read a lot about literacy, education, developmental appropriateness, etc., and I am always happy to share some of the research and recommendations I've read when parents ask questions about specific materials, encouraging literacy, or appropriateness of a certain item for their child.

I love doing all of these parts of the desk worker's daily trade. And, in a twenty-first century library, I don't think any of these services is limited strictly to books.

Did you notice that I didn't specifically mention books and traditional reading materials in the first paragraph of this blog post? That was intentional. If my experience working at reference desks over the past few years has taught me anything, it's that library patrons--of every age--consume information widely and in many different ways. Books. Audiobooks. Downloadables. Web resources. Databases. And, most recently, new media--predominantly apps.

The way I see it, my job is to answer patron questions. If they ask me about books, I tell them about books. If they ask me about the appropriateness of a book for a child of a certain age, I share resources that can provide perspectives on that topic. I use the knowledge I have gleaned from my education, training, and years of service to given patrons the best possible resources in answer to their questions, whatever those questions may be. And if that holds true for books, it holds true for other types of media, too.

That's one of the reasons I co-authored Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth, a white paper adopted by the ALSC Board this past March.

Media mentorship means providing children and their caregivers with the best possible answers to their queries, regardless of the type of media they ask about. Being able to answer those questions well--which is my job--requires me to be knowledgeable about all those types of media my kids and caregivers might ask about. I need to have some basic information about all those types of media, specifically information and recommendations from experts. And I need to know where to go to find reliable, quality information when I a patron's question requires me to find it.

That's what being a media mentor means to me: supporting children and their families in their information needs and wants, and having access to and knowledge of the information that can help me do that. It's not about format--I am a media mentor when asked about books as much as when I'm asked about apps. After all, books are the original library medium.

I don't find the idea of media mentorship controversial. It's not about technology; it's about children and families and doing the best we can to serve their needs. That's what it means to me to be a media mentor.

~~*~~

Do you have a perspective or story about what it means to act as a media mentor to children and families in your library? Help us spread the word about the virtual release party for the new Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth white paper! After Tuesday's ALSC Community Forum, we'll be taking to Twitter and blogs to spread ideas for media mentor programs and services. You can join us by using the hashtag #mediamentor.