By Movieguide® Contributor
Want your children to get the most educational value out of the internet as well as stay safe? Experts recommend using the tech alongside your kids.
“Young children spend a significant and increasing amount of time using digital media. Thus, a clear understanding of how best to support children’s learning from digital media is important,” a new study published by Science Direct stated. “A specific recommendation by some professional bodies is that parental co-use should be applied to scaffold children’s learning from digital media.”
Phys.org conducted similar research, finding “a key way” for children to benefit from digital media is by using it alongside their parents.
“Adults using digital media together with children can help them understand and relate to the digital content better,” the group explained, adding that co-use can even “boost language skills.”
“Watching television with your child and elaborating and commenting on what is viewed can help enhance their understanding of the content, reinforcing their learning during educational programs,” Dr. Eszter Somogyi, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, shared. “Coviewing can also contribute to the development of their conversation skills and provides children with a role model for appropriate television viewing behaviour.”
Phys.org also shared some tips for parents who want to make the most of their time co-using digital media with their kids, including being an active participant in whatever it is they are watching or playing.
“Ask questions,” they wrote. “Encourage them to think critically about the content. For example, if they are watching a video, you might ask ‘what do you think will happen next?’ or ‘why do you think the character did that?’”
The site also recommended choosing high-quality and educational content.
“An educational app should have a clear learning goal, include problems for children to solve, and offer clear and specific feedback to support children’s learning,” Phys.org wrote. “It should be presented with an entertaining narrative.”
The Child Mind Institute also recommended co-viewing, explaining in an Instagram post that it is beneficial for both parent and child “to be working from the same playbook.”
The concept of co-viewing aligns with the recommendations of Movieguide® founder Dr. Ted Baehr, who frequently emphasizes the importance of media discernment in his book, The Culture Wise Family.
“Discerning viewers need to understand: (1) the medium of entertainment they are consuming; (2) their cognitive abilities; and, (3) the values of both the medium they are consuming and biblical values,” he wrote. “So equipped, the viewer will quickly perceive if the media product portrays or contradicts a biblical worldview.”
Dr. Baehr recommends asking these questions:
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- What kind of role models, positive and negative, are the main characters?
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- Who is the hero? And, who is the villain? And, how do their character traits agree with a biblical hero or villain?
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- Do the moral statements and themes agree with a biblical worldview?
- Are real consequences to sin exposed and rebuked?
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- How are relationships and love portrayed?
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- How are Christians, religion, the church, the Bible, and God portrayed?
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- Does the language honor God and people?
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- If violence is included, how is it presented?
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- How much sexual activity and nudity is included?
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- How appropriate is this material for my family and me?
There’s no denying that digital media, in all its many forms, will be a part of your child’s life. In order to keep them safe, it’s important for parents to not only monitor what they’re watching but to engage with it themselves.
Read Next: Ten Media-Wise Questions for the Culture-Wise Family
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