What really matters- Screens & various media sources- There are lots of media alternatives from books to screens to music and as with anything your child experiences, content matters. Any medium is a part of our toddlers world and can be used in a responsible way  in moderation. Sweeping statements that all media is bad seems too broad a claim and to me does not make sense. I co-founded a media company called eebee’s adventures (www.eebee.com) on the belief that media and screens could be very useful and powerful tool for the development of my kids. And now that I have seen how it works with my own children I am even more convinced of its powerful and positive part in their development

How to put it into practice-

My Experience-

Whitney formed a very personal and emotional relationship with eebee, the character in the DVD series. She would directly request him (see Requesting eebee video). Instead of zoning out, Whitney would attend to what eebee was doing on the screen and often try to name or actively describe it with pointing and gestures (See Viewing eebee video). What eebee did on the screen Whitney would want to try in the real world. eebee was a great model for all the things Whitney could try with the everyday household objects around the house. eebee seemed to provoke a higher curiosity for all the possible explorations around the house and the confidence that if eebee could do it, whit could do it. eebee was her buddy and she loved him.

Tuning In-

I have observed Whitney watch different media and I am convinced that the Content of that show does matter. Obviously I have a strong bias as I was actively involved in designing eebee shows but I did think that I could detect a difference in effect that one show had versus another.  Whitney did not seem to understand images of brightly colored objects floating across the screen with no one pushing them. She wanted to figure out what was going on but without the context of a real person making it move or any adults for that matter, there was no way for her to figure out what was going on. eebee presented the whole context from her point of view. She had experience playing with what eebee was exploring and seemed to immediately relate and engage with that content.

Extending/Bridging-

There are lots a way a parent can support learning via the screen. First like a book, you can make it an interactive experience where you are labeling the objects on the screen and narrating the action. Vocabulary is bursting at this time and since eebee in particular has everyday objects that babies are encountering all the time, they will quickly pick up on and build a vast vocabulary. Whit and I would talk about the last time we played blocks talking about the towers we made and the big sounds we made by knocking them down. We would go and try it during and after the segment as well.

There are even learning opportunities related to DVDs and inserting them in the player. Whitney picked up on the many times that her mom and I would take the disc, open the player and put it in the machine. She could now call that script to mind and try it herself (see Inserting DVD video). Even though Whitney could not find the right slot, this mental model building should be encouraged and put into practice across all the mini scripts throughout the day.