Use screen awareness to nurture and safeguard child development from birth to age 8 in the digital age.

This book equips early childhood professionals to grow their “screen awareness”—the knowledge and practices that uphold the developmental well-being and rights of children in a screen-based, media-centric society.
The authors introduce the Screen-Aware Framework for Early Childhood (SAFEC), a versatile approach for making informed, intentional decisions about screen use, time, and content across diverse home, classroom, and child care settings. The book highlights consequential research findings and myths about young children and screens; builds awareness of the influence of screen-based media, including problematic industry practices; and digs into protective factors for reducing risks and identifying priorities for strengthening child and family resilience.
Full of practical information, strategies, tools, and resources for developing screen-aware practices, policies, and partnerships, Screen-Aware Early Childhood is essential guidance for all those who educate and care for young children.
Book Features:

• Offers a dynamic framework with actionable practices that enable adults to prioritize and protect children’s developmental needs.
• Builds knowledge and skills so professionals and families can make informed decisions about screen use with confidence.
• Offers research-based cautions concerning the harmful effects of screen exposure on young children’s health, development, and learning.
• Encourages responsive, non-judgmental communication among caregivers, teachers, colleagues, families, and community partners to foster understanding and shared responsibility and support.
• Includes practice-based scenarios, questions for reflection and discussion, and helpful tools and resources.

Patricia Cantor is professor emerita of early childhood studies and former associate provost at Plymouth State University, New Hampshire. Melinda Holohan serves as faculty specialist in family science and human development at Western Michigan University. Jean Rogers is director of the Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay, a global collaborative of practitioners, educators, advocates, and parents.

“As a professor of early childhood education, I appreciate how this book connects screens with the bioecological model of development and provides readers with a thorough understanding of how screens impact multiple facets of our lives…. We must keep our kids safe, and this book is a fantastic tool to do just that.”
—From the Foreword by Denisha Jones, executive director, Defending the Early Years

“Here is the book that parents and early childhood practitioners have needed! It's a comprehensive manual examining the complexities of growing up in a digitally driven, screen-centered world that offers the hopeful possibility of navigating that world with informed awareness and a continuing commitment to preserving young children's well-being and healthy development.”
—Nancy Carlsson-Paige, professor emerita, Lesley University

"This book is a smart, compassionate guide for raising curious, confident kids in today’s connected world."
—Kris Perry, executive director, Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development

"In Screen-Aware Early Childhood, Cantor, Holohan, and Rogers have gifted us a strengths-based, research-informed guide for navigating the complexities of young children’s screen experiences. As both a researcher and a parent, I appreciate how their Screen-Aware Framework (SAFEC) acknowledges the challenges of raising children in a digitally saturated world while offering practical, developmentally-grounded strategies that resonate deeply with everyday realities."
—Katie Davis, associate professor, University of Washington

“Screen-Aware Early Childhood is a life vest for parents and teachers drowning in masses of digital products claiming to help children learn. Thanks to the authors for hammering in the important message that screens are only a supplement to learning, not a substitute for learning. Human-to-human interaction in conversation or around screens remains the magic sauce to raising and teaching healthy, happy children.”
—Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, coauthor of Einstein Never Used Flashcards, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Temple University, and Senior Fellow at Brookings

Contents

Foreword Denisha Jones  xi

Acknowledgments  xiii

Introduction  1

Part I: Cultivating Screen Awareness

1.  Navigating the Screenscape  7

Growing Up in a Screen-Saturated World  7

Why Screen Aware?  11

The Screen-Aware Framework for Early Childhood (SAFEC)  13

Questions for Reflection  23

2.  Focusing on Development  24

Core Developmental Needs  24

Questions for Reflection  42

3.  Looking to Research  43

Common Screen Myths  43

Critical Findings  48

The Benefits of Research-Informed Practice  57

Questions for Reflection  58

4.  Promoting Protective Factors  60

A Strengths-Based Lens  60

Family Protective Factors and Screen Awareness  61

Screen-Aware Protective Factors  69

Questions for Reflection  81

Part II: Advancing Screen Awareness

5.  Fortifying Caregiver–Child Relationships  85

Barriers to Connection  85

Strengthening Connections  90

Summary of Key Points  96

Applying Screen Awareness  97

6.  Safeguarding Children From Exploitation  98

Children as Targets  98

Child Rights and Risks in the Digital Age  103

Summary of Key Points  114

Applying Screen Awareness  115

7.  Activating Screen Awareness  116

Effective Communication Strategies  116

Professional Learning and Development  120

Action Planning for Screen-Aware Practices  125

Summary of Key Points  130

Applying Screen Awareness  130

8.  Establishing Policies and Partnerships  132

Program/School-Level Policies  132

Local/State Level  138

National Level  142

Summary of Key Points  144

Applying Screen Awareness  145

Epilogue: Advocating for Screen Awareness  146

Appendix A: Action Planning With SMART Goals  151

Appendix B: Sample Phone-Free Zone Sign  153

References  155

Index  173

About the Authors  177