How much tech is too much for kids? Check out this KDKA-TV video

Technology is a part of everyone’s world these days and kids will need some level of tech knowledge to navigate their school and work lives as they grow. But how much is too much? 

Kidsburgh’s events editor, Meg St-Esprit, visited KDKA-TV’s “Talk Pittsburgh” this week to talk with co-hosts Mikey Hood and Heather Abraham about the challenge parents face as they try to figure out how much technology is too much. 

“Kids are getting tech-savvy earlier than ever by age two, but they spend about two and a half hours a day on screens and 40% already have their own tablet,” Hood told the audience, quoting data from a study by Common Sense Media. 

Just avoiding technology isn’t an option. That means parents have a lot of decisions to make about how much access their kids have and how that time is spent. It also means teaching healthy habits and helping kids develop digital literacy. 

“When we talk about digital literacy — which is really just all of the skills we have to gather information, to stay safe online, to manage our mental well being and manage our screen time,” St-Esprit said, “developing those for kids doesn’t always mean we give them their own device. It can. But it’s balancing that, all the way up from toddlerhood, like sitting side-by-side with you and looking at social media and thinking, ‘Oh, this makes me feel icky because I’m jealous of this person’s vacation. I’m gonna put this away. Let’s go play.'”

Get useful tips about this parenting challenge in this video interview: