Concerns over screen use by pre-school children
BBCEducation representatives in Guernsey are renewing calls for appropriate use of screens for pre-school children amid concerns too much exposure can make it harder for some to concentrate.
Owner of Monkey Puzzle Nursery, Caroline Blondel, said excessive screen-time was a factor as "it creates a lack of concentration in the children".
Ruth Sharp, the States Early Years Team lead, said one in five children start primary school below "age-related expectations" for motor skills and emotional regulation but some uses of screens could bring benefits.
Sharp said: "It's not about demonising technology, it has a place. It's about appropriate usage of that and how we interact with it."
Blondel added spending too much time on screens could make children "want instant answers and instant pleasure, and that can't happen in everyday life".
National negotiating official for teaching union NASUWT Wayne Bates echoed concerns about the rise in the number of young children using technology.
"It seems to be getting worse year on year," he said.
"Too much screen time does impact on children's ability to interact with other children, interact with adults, learn social skills and learn fine motor control that they need to do everyday tasks," he added.
Professor of developmental psychology at the University of Surrey Harriet Tenenbaum said there could be some benefits from using screens, as her team had found pre-schoolers could learn science via an app.
"It depends on the game or the app you're playing," she said.
"If you're reading or watching a story, and there's lots of explanation about why someone feels a certain way, children can learn."
Sharp said the States Early Years Team had been working to assess the use of screens at an early age.
"We've always monitored speech, language and communication, and we've seen improvements in that area," she said.
"Certainly we're above pre-Covid levels across all the prime areas now for starting school."
She said the Screens Away, Time to Play campaign, which encouraged parents to not give children under the age of two any screen time, was a good source of information on supporting young children.
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