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- NewsEdSurge24 Jul 2026
Early Childhood Education Teachers Grapple with Screen Time
The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its screen time guidelines for children, focusing on digital devices rather than TV, but early childhood educators found the recommendations too generic for pre-K students. Teachers report that excessive screen time can impair cognitive development and emotional regulation in young children, leading to shorter attention spans and quick-tempered behavior.
Original abstract
<p>When the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its<a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/157/2/e2025075320/206129/Digital-Ecosystems-Children-and-Adolescents-Policy"> <u>guidelines</u></a> around screen time for children and teenagers for the first time in 10 years this past January, many teachers and educators applauded the news. The document focused less on television and more on digital devices. It offered educators, families, pediatricians, and other stakeholders research-backed guidance on using digital devices to support children’s learning, rather than prioritize prolonged engagement. </p><p>However, many of the recommendations were not tailored to specific age groups. Recommendations like “create a family media plan” and “protect sleep” were helpful but offered few concrete steps for pre-K students. </p><p>That left early childhood educators asking what they could do for their young learners.</p><h2>The Risks in Pre-K Through K</h2><p>Unlike the physical world, digital content comes fast, in short bursts, and when kids get used to that, it has negative consequences. “Too much of this screen and things jumping in front of them, it could be damaging overall,” says Latoya Jones, a pre-K through fifth-grade media specialist in Broward County, Florida. “They are developing their cognitive processes, and if we’re teaching them to think in six-second bursts, maybe that’s not what we’re aiming for.”</p><p>When kids interact with devices rather than people, their emotional regulation can suffer, says Kristina Turner, a first-grade teacher at the Paterson, New Jersey, campus of<a href="https://collegeachieve.org/"> <u>College Achieve Public Schools</u></a>, a network of three K-12 charter schools. “A lot of the students, they are quick-tempered because they’re just used to quick things. If something takes too long, their behavior starts to heighten,” she says.</p><p>For the youngest learners in particular, “it is so important that they are learni