by Max Elliot Anderson

My wife and I were blessed by the arrival of our first two grandchildren. No, they are not twins. Earlier this year, our son and his wife had a little girl. Then, this summer our daughter and her husband gave birth to a little girl.

As a grandparent, it’s not hard to identify the many forces at work in our world intent on shaping the thoughts and opinions of the little ones in your family. What you may not know is that the clock is ticking as you guide them to independence and maturity.

For decades psychologists have described the critical stages of development in children. As the research progressed, it became clear that formation of personality and the foundations for learning occur much earlier than had originally been thought.

The debate about how our children develop, and whether heredity or environment makes the greatest impact on the outcome has raged for decades. But stop and think about where your grandchildren are getting the information that helps them form their life’s choices and opinions. Consider the following:

• 80% of children six and under read or are read to in an average day, yet…
• They spend an average of only forty-nine minutes in that same average day reading.
• These same children spend two hours and twenty-two minutes or more in front of a television or computer screen. Smart phones are eating into the timeline even more.
• A recent survey found that 90% of parents said their children under age two watch at least some form of electronic media. The average amount of TV watched by children two and under was one to two hours per day.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) makes a ‘screen-free’ recommendation for all children under age two. The researchers studied both the benefits and harm in educational TV viewing for the same age group. This is some of what they found:

1.     Because educational television programs usually use content and context that doesn’t make sense yet to children under two, there is little, if any, educational value.

2.     Unstructured play proved to be far better than electronic media for encouraging brain development. Through unstructured play children learn creativity, problem solving, reasoning, and motor skills. Unstructured play also encouraged independence by teaching children to entertain themselves.

3.     Little children learned best when they interacted with people and not a TV screen. Even when adults watch TV and videos with their children to help them understand and learn, the children do much better from live interaction and instruction.

4.     A television or radio in the background can also negatively impact a child’s development by distracting the adult and decreasing interaction with their children. Hearing these distracting sounds in the background can also have a negative effect on a child during his unstructured play time.

5.     Television viewing around bedtime is especially negative because it causes difficulties in sleeping and sleep schedules. This affects a child’s mood, behavior, and learning.

6.     Many children with increased exposure to media have delayed language development after they start school.

One of the primary researchers, Dr. Brown, gave the following recommendation to parents: “In today’s ‘achievement culture, the best thing you can do for your young child is to give her a chance to have unstructured play both with you and independently. Children need this in order to figure out how the world works.”

Because you’re concerned about what your grandchildren are learning, and their literacy success, pay attention to the warnings from AAP and consider reducing or completely eliminating heavy media use for children under two. Instead, begin reading together with your grandchild to better develop literacy and to insure their success in education and life.

To help in this battle, an online children’s magazine has been developed where you can find new short stories to read to your children during the day or at bedtime. Each month, I also have two new original short stories in this magazine. You can find more information at http://www.knowonder.com. It’s free.

Remember, parents and grandparents stand on the front lines when it comes to the battle for our children’s hearts and minds. Reading habits you instill early will benefit them for a lifetime.

“Do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” (Deut. 4:9b)