WEBVTT 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:15.140 Hey there educators and parents, welcome back 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:17.940 to the Education Connection where we dive into 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:20.519 the real issues impacting our young learners. 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:24.559 I'm Robin Wilson, your host, bringing you practical 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.960 strategies to set kids up for success. Today 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.980 we're tackling a challenge many of us are facing. 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:34.939 How screens are impacting our youngest learners. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.020 Tablets and phones are shaping how toddlers' 00:00:38.539 --> 00:00:41.770 brains develop. research is showing it could 00:00:41.770 --> 00:00:46.689 affect their future ability to read think critically 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:50.270 and be creative and you know how important reading 00:00:50.270 --> 00:00:54.530 is to me almost if not every podcast that I've 00:00:54.530 --> 00:00:57.490 done has talked about the importance of reading 00:00:57.490 --> 00:01:01.149 and things that we can do to shape their reading 00:01:01.149 --> 00:01:04.849 so this podcast is really important to me because 00:01:04.849 --> 00:01:10.500 I see That screen time is affecting our youngest 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:15.340 toddlers, our elementary school students, our 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:19.219 middle school, high school. It's affecting adults. 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:23.159 It's affecting even our older generation and 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:28.579 even our aging parents. It is designed to make 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:33.219 you addicted to it and it's not your fault. There's 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:37.480 dopamine going on in your brain. I listened recently 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.540 to Mel Robbins love love love her and giving 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:45.719 her a shout out because this research is not 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.760 new but she brought light to it recently on her 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:54.140 podcast and as I was thinking about her podcast 00:01:54.140 --> 00:01:57.900 I got thinking I have seen the effects of this 00:01:57.900 --> 00:02:01.920 on our youngest of students and so that's where 00:02:02.250 --> 00:02:07.069 My area is my expertise is what we can do to 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:09.750 help our littlest ones. And I'm also going to 00:02:09.750 --> 00:02:12.270 be talking about how I want to make that change 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:16.569 in my life too. So I'm going to be giving you 00:02:16.569 --> 00:02:20.210 some practical strategies as always to set kids 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:27.009 up for success. The as I said research is showing 00:02:27.009 --> 00:02:30.889 it could affect the their future ability to read 00:02:30.889 --> 00:02:33.009 Think critically and that's where we've talked 00:02:33.009 --> 00:02:35.770 about those comprehension strategies and to be 00:02:35.770 --> 00:02:40.889 able to infer visualize Use their brain to think 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:44.310 as what we were taught in kids to think outside 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:47.629 of In between the lines or outside the lines 00:02:47.629 --> 00:02:52.909 or outside of the box So but here's the good 00:02:52.909 --> 00:02:55.219 news Because I don't want it to be all doom and 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:57.840 gloom and we've already kind of fallen into this 00:02:57.840 --> 00:02:59.939 and now there's nothing we can do because listen 00:02:59.939 --> 00:03:06.319 the brain is Placid it is It's a muscle and it 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:09.419 can be changed. It is what we call resilient 00:03:09.419 --> 00:03:13.199 and it can come back The brain is ever growing 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:16.280 and what I love about the brain studies is even 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:21.689 older people like me. I am 58 years old I found 00:03:21.689 --> 00:03:26.370 out a few years ago now I was so excited like 00:03:26.370 --> 00:03:29.349 I was calling my friends would excited about 00:03:29.349 --> 00:03:31.849 it because I don't know if you know but every 00:03:31.849 --> 00:03:34.349 night when you go to bed even at your age at 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:39.050 my age you get 1 ,400 new neurons every single 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:44.090 night and what you do with them determines what 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.560 how your day is gonna become, the things you're 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:50.580 gonna learn, how you think, how you act, how 00:03:50.580 --> 00:03:54.479 you, it will affect the things that you do going 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.860 forward in the future. So if you're feeling like 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:00.139 you've already fallen into the trap of too much 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:02.419 screen time with your little one, don't worry. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.139 There are simple effective ways that we can turn 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:09.500 it around. Today I'm gonna share some practical 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:14.300 steps to help your young child unplug. That's 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:17.779 right. We engage and develop skills. They need 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:22.439 to thrive So if this episode speaks to you Leave 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:25.079 a five -star review for me It's gonna help other 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:27.980 parents and teachers find me and if you know 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:30.120 someone who needs to hear this, please share 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:34.040 it with them Now, let's get started So yeah, 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:37.399 I know you want your child and your students 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:40.660 to be engaged. I want my students to be engaged 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:43.399 You want them to be curious learners who can 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.459 focus, think deeply, and express creativity. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:50.600 But in today's world, screen times are every, 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:53.300 I'm sorry, screens are everywhere and screen 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:56.480 time is just getting longer and longer because 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:02.259 it is set up to make us become addicted to it 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:05.600 every time we're on it and we we swipe up or 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.220 we have the flashing thing over here or the ad 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:11.860 that's popping in over here we're getting a shot 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:17.360 of dopamine and it's easy to feel overwhelmed 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:20.240 it's easy to feel like you're trying to find 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:22.379 the right balance but you keep you know wanting 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:25.319 to look back at that phone and your child is 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:29.480 the same as you and when we take the guilt away 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:34.500 and we realize how it is manipulating us that's 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:37.100 when we can start seeing it for what it is and 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:40.399 maybe do something about it. So studies show 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.959 that excessive screen time in early childhood 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:47.939 is rewiring their developing brains. It's impacting 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:52.639 their attention spans and you know we have an 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:58.120 ADHD, ADD, I know they say there's no ADHD anymore 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:03.860 that it's only ADD but 80 ADD to me is just the 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:07.540 attention deficit disorder to where they're just 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:10.759 their attention is diverted and the ADHD is that 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:14.660 hyperactivity that comes with it I still see 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:16.680 that so I know that they're they're not wanting 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:19.240 to call those separate anymore But I do still 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:23.399 see that and as much as we're seeing those attention 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:28.600 spans reduced It does there's research that shows 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.759 that it's stemming back to the screen time For 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:34.439 a lot of these little guys that they had very 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:37.220 early there when their brains were developing 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:40.680 when our brain, you know Years ago and I have 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:43.040 a Christian audience and I know when God created 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.959 our brains over the centuries We were not wired 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:51.579 to have this electronic device in our hands at 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:57.079 birth at early early childhood at toddler age 00:06:57.079 --> 00:07:00.379 and our brains it's rewiring our brains according 00:07:00.379 --> 00:07:04.399 to research so it's reducing deep thinking and 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:07.540 it's making it harder for kids to engage in books 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:09.720 and hands -on learning because let's face it 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.879 a book is not going to pop out and animation 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.980 here and there a book is not going to you know 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.920 flash this shiny thing this shiny object over 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:21.660 here and so that's what they're looking for when 00:07:21.660 --> 00:07:23.660 they're reading books and sometimes books then 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:26.930 become Something that they're not wanting to 00:07:26.930 --> 00:07:30.490 do as much as they are wanting to play those 00:07:30.490 --> 00:07:33.939 games on the screen So maybe you've already noticed 00:07:33.939 --> 00:07:36.639 this in your child. Maybe they struggle to focus 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:39.660 on the books or they struggle to focus with their 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:43.800 teacher Because you know, she's not throwing 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:46.639 Flashes of light at them. She's you know, she's 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.279 up there teaching about math and it's a much 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.800 simpler Situation that they're in when they're 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:57.050 not on their screens so and they might get bored 00:07:57.050 --> 00:08:00.689 easier and they seem to always want a screen 00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:03.889 and begging for that screen time if it sounds 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:06.810 familiar you're not alone please please please 00:08:06.810 --> 00:08:09.829 don't take this as judgment from me at all and 00:08:09.829 --> 00:08:13.490 don't judge yourself don't judge your child that's 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:19.310 what the the The big companies are wanting to 00:08:19.310 --> 00:08:22.029 do, they're wanting to sell your child that new 00:08:22.029 --> 00:08:25.470 game. They're wanting to sell you that new product. 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:28.449 They're flashing things at you. Social media 00:08:28.449 --> 00:08:32.389 is wanting you to stay on there longer. Instagram 00:08:32.389 --> 00:08:34.950 Facebook all of these social me, you know, and 00:08:34.950 --> 00:08:38.149 they're good things. I love my Facebook. I love 00:08:38.149 --> 00:08:41.129 Instagram I can connect with my friends. I can 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:46.389 do my art and things on there that I do but There 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:52.299 it's wired to keep you on there longer So if 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:55.059 it sounds familiar you're not alone, but there 00:08:55.059 --> 00:08:58.440 is hope the brain is not set in stone as I mentioned 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:03.080 earlier It is what we call Resilient it can adapt 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:06.860 and change at any stage of development or even 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:09.740 in adulthood adulthood because guess what you're 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:13.379 getting those 1400 new neurons every night and 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:17.340 you can rewire your brain if you've ever read 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:22.600 books about the habits You can rewire your habits 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:26.059 and so that's kind of what this podcast is about 00:09:26.059 --> 00:09:29.740 Focusing mostly on that screen time and it's 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:33.740 never too late to make a positive shift So as 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:36.559 a longtime educator, I've seen firsthand how 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:39.539 different learning environments shape young minds 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:43.899 over the years that I've taught I've noticed 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:47.200 when I first started teaching um it didn't seem 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.399 like I needed to be animated. I could teach of 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:52.379 course we wanted to do different things give 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:56.080 kids ways to move around the room ways to go 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.519 um to you know to the rug or get up here but 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.940 it seems like today I have to be more animated 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:05.860 I have to come up with more sing songy songs 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:11.860 I have to shift the focus quite often and so 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:16.330 doing a different activity with the same Concept 00:10:16.330 --> 00:10:19.049 so if I this week I'm teaching double -digit 00:10:19.049 --> 00:10:23.129 addition and so teaching it in one way I've got 00:10:23.129 --> 00:10:26.049 to teach it in several different ways and we 00:10:26.049 --> 00:10:29.629 need to Sing about it and we need to move with 00:10:29.629 --> 00:10:31.769 it and we and these are all good things and I 00:10:31.769 --> 00:10:35.450 love my job I love doing what I do But because 00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:38.470 of the technology that our kids are used to it 00:10:38.470 --> 00:10:41.090 has to be almost replicated in the classroom 00:10:41.090 --> 00:10:45.799 And it's not always possible So but the good 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:48.639 news is you're not powerless. There are research 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:52.820 back strategies that Parents and teachers can 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:56.080 use to reverse the effects of too much screen 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:59.320 time and build healthier habits So if you're 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:02.019 looking for ways to cut back on screen time I'm 00:11:02.019 --> 00:11:04.980 here for you and I want to help you and your 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:09.240 child regain focus Creativity and a love for 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.200 learning. So here's a simple plan number one 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:18.019 start small Don't go in and announce that there 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:21.659 will be no more screen time for your child, because 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:27.059 that's going to set you up for a disaster. There's 00:11:27.059 --> 00:11:30.919 going to be arguments and fights and everything. 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:35.259 But one of the things you can do is just start 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:39.100 by reducing it by 10 minutes, 10, 15 minutes. 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:41.940 So if your screen time a day right now is an 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:47.299 hour. two hours shave that back by ten minutes 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:50.539 and if they're really young they may not even 00:11:50.539 --> 00:11:54.519 realize that you have taken that back by ten 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:59.519 minutes. Swap so when you get ready to you know 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:02.679 shut off that screen of course I you know it's 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:05.340 something that they're going to be invested in 00:12:05.340 --> 00:12:08.700 elsewhere so you might instead of saying no screens 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:11.139 offer better alternative hey you want to go outside 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:15.190 and play? Have some play -doh here or look at 00:12:15.190 --> 00:12:18.389 these blocks I built and if your child is into 00:12:18.389 --> 00:12:23.889 building or creating Things maybe painting. I 00:12:23.889 --> 00:12:25.950 know a lot of times you can buy little paint 00:12:25.950 --> 00:12:28.950 sets and they're not too much Get your child 00:12:28.950 --> 00:12:31.450 involved in something else that they like to 00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:34.950 do. Maybe they want to cook with you So swap 00:12:34.950 --> 00:12:37.970 it out. You don't want to just say no more and 00:12:37.970 --> 00:12:40.149 then leave them with nothing swap it out with 00:12:40.149 --> 00:12:43.200 something that's fun that you both can do together. 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:47.659 I would set clear consistent limits and you know 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:50.840 you may get a little pushback from that but if 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:54.059 you set those limits decide as a family when 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:57.240 screens are allowed and stick to it create a 00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:01.340 screen free zone so be you know if you're deciding 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:03.620 separate time is going to be a time that we don't 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:06.879 have any screens um we're not going to have our 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.769 phones you know ask the family can we put the 00:13:09.769 --> 00:13:13.009 phones away during this time and you know if 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:15.970 it's too hard to do it for the whole time maybe 00:13:15.970 --> 00:13:18.789 you do for part of the time but i i think your 00:13:18.789 --> 00:13:22.429 family will um go along and try to put those 00:13:22.429 --> 00:13:27.710 away if they can engage in fun um connection 00:13:27.710 --> 00:13:32.850 with you and conversation with you um encouraging 00:13:32.850 --> 00:13:36.690 boredom i heard i listen to podcast all the time 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:41.299 and I found out actually a few years ago that 00:13:41.299 --> 00:13:45.240 when we are bored a lot of times that's our brain 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:49.620 taking a break and sometimes it's actually okay 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:52.539 to be bored. Do you remember when we were kids 00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:56.720 and those lazy summer afternoons when we would 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.059 say mom I'm bored and she would say go outside 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:03.700 and play and a lot of times that's what would 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:09.789 start to build our creativity. That's when we 00:14:09.789 --> 00:14:13.149 become more interested in other things that we 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:16.409 didn't realize that we would have been interested 00:14:16.409 --> 00:14:20.809 in. That's actually where creativity begins. 00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:24.750 So give kids space to be bored. You don't have 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:28.269 to plan every waking hour of their day and you 00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:30.990 don't have to rescue them from boredom. They 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:33.610 have if they have any things in their room they 00:14:33.610 --> 00:14:36.769 want to play with you know they can go play with 00:14:36.769 --> 00:14:39.710 those or they could go outside find some sticks 00:14:39.710 --> 00:14:43.610 and build something build things with their sticks 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:46.090 in the yard. So it doesn't even have to cost 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:51.090 a lot of money. But boredom is not a really not 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:56.549 a bad thing. And so read together. And if you've 00:14:56.549 --> 00:14:59.529 listened to my podcast, actually every podcast 00:14:59.529 --> 00:15:02.450 that I've done, I don't know that I've not mentioned 00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:06.750 reading. Read together. So read to your children 00:15:06.750 --> 00:15:09.730 or read with your children and let your children 00:15:09.730 --> 00:15:13.720 read to you. just if you want to do all three 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:16.100 of these in the same day or if you want to split 00:15:16.100 --> 00:15:19.940 it up today tomorrow and the next day share that 00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:22.480 experience of books with them go to the library 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:26.600 pick out books that they love have them pick 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:28.399 out the ones they love because their interest 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:33.539 is always more when they are reading and something 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:36.899 you can do is spend time at the library so pick 00:15:36.899 --> 00:15:39.820 the books out at the library Find a cozy corner 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:42.399 and read to them at the library. That's going 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:45.759 to give that physical separation from screen 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:50.399 time as well. And let's be the model. And I'm 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.240 speaking to myself because this is a big one. 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.940 There's nothing better for me on a weekend to 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:58.840 just get my phone and do some mindless scrolling. 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:03.100 But I'm going to try to cut back my own screen 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:07.879 time and work on building my own creativity and 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:11.080 see if I can just leave my phone in another room. 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:14.399 I don't need my phone with me all the time 24 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:19.559 -7. I do like to check it during the day for 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:22.580 my family like at my lunchtime or in between 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:27.360 but I'm going to try to like in the evening even 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.139 separate my phone because at work I don't look 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:33.279 at it all day. You know, I do check it at lunch 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:36.440 and stuff, but at home I'm checking it quite 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:39.120 often I'm coming in the door and checking it 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.720 and I'm making dinner and while I'm making dinner 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:45.100 I might be scrolling through Social media and 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:47.500 then after dinner, you know I'm looking through 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:50.120 again and then I do set it down if I'm working 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.340 on a podcast or if I'm working on a product I 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:56.620 will set it down If I'm working on lesson plans 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.440 and it really does set to the side and I don't 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:02.500 look at it too much want to start separating 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:07.039 from it a little bit even during while I'm cooking 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.799 separate stuff and see you know if I can do without 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:12.960 it because the phone is set up for an addiction 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:16.740 and I'm really trying to separate myself from 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:20.079 that addiction if you haven't listened to Mel 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:24.099 Robbins latest podcast on that you should go 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:29.569 to her podcast and listen to that episode So 00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:31.910 try one small change this week. I just want to 00:17:31.910 --> 00:17:34.269 give you something little. Maybe it's a tech 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:37.210 -free dinner or swapping 15 minutes of screen 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:40.750 time for outdoor play. Little by little these 00:17:40.750 --> 00:17:45.170 shifts add up to big impact. Imagine your child 00:17:45.170 --> 00:17:48.369 excitedly flipping through a book. playing outside 00:17:48.369 --> 00:17:51.509 without asking for a tablet or engaging in deep 00:17:51.509 --> 00:17:54.650 conversations at the dinner table. Imagine them 00:17:54.650 --> 00:17:57.809 developing the creativity, problem -solving skills, 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.289 and focus they need to succeed in school and 00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:04.650 beyond. That's what's possible when we take small 00:18:04.650 --> 00:18:10.109 steps toward balance. So if we don't step in 00:18:10.109 --> 00:18:14.130 now, I have been concerned for a while and I've 00:18:14.130 --> 00:18:16.569 talked to other educators that have been very 00:18:16.569 --> 00:18:20.609 concerned. We're going to risk raising a generation 00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:24.930 that struggles with attention. That lacks creativity 00:18:24.930 --> 00:18:27.369 because you know that screen is doing it all 00:18:27.369 --> 00:18:30.809 for them and they're going to be finding it harder 00:18:30.809 --> 00:18:35.849 to engage in meaningful learning. Those comprehension 00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:38.390 skills are going to fall to the wayside because 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:42.019 you know to infer or to think outside the box 00:18:42.019 --> 00:18:45.319 or to visualize if they've never had to do it 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:47.460 on their own that's going to be difficult for 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:49.980 them when they're reading a story and they're 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:53.119 having to take a test and pass a test for maybe 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:56.240 a state test that you have when your littles 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.099 get into second and third grade if they've never 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:01.000 had to visualize and you know they've always 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.500 had the screens doing it for them it's going 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:06.579 to be difficult for them so Take those steps 00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:10.319 now to help your littles. And if you've already 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:13.259 been doing that, it's okay. It's okay. Start 00:19:13.259 --> 00:19:17.440 small, let's turn it around. But we do know the 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:20.720 research is clear. Too much passive screen time 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:24.279 in early childhood has long -term consequences. 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:30.700 But we as the teachers and as parents have the 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:34.470 power to change that. So I hope you've enjoyed 00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:38.450 today's episode and I hope it gave you hope and 00:19:38.450 --> 00:19:41.130 practical tools to help the little ones in your 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:44.250 life. Remember no matter where you are in this 00:19:44.250 --> 00:19:46.670 journey it's never too late to make positive 00:19:46.670 --> 00:19:50.950 changes. The brain is resilient and small shifts 00:19:50.950 --> 00:19:54.849 can lead to big results. So if this episode speaks 00:19:54.849 --> 00:19:57.809 to you I'd love to hear from you. Have you struggled 00:19:57.809 --> 00:20:01.500 with managing screen time? I know I have. Do 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:03.880 you know someone who needs to hear this message? 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:07.599 Send this episode their way and help spread awareness. 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:10.900 And if you haven't already, please take a moment 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:14.480 to leave a five -star review. It helps more parents 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:18.240 and teachers find this podcast. And before you 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:22.019 go, if you have an almost kindergartner, first 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:24.980 grader, or second grader, be sure to check out 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:29.980 episodes 24, 25, and 26. or all three of them 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:33.240 if you have all three or if you have one or the 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:36.859 other you can find each one of those there they're 00:20:36.859 --> 00:20:39.839 packed with insights to help young learners get 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:44.099 a strong start so thank you so much for listening 00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:46.240 and I'll see you next time