Ditch the screen and go for green

By Jessica Pierson Russo

When it came to screen time, as a parent of young children, I was never fully confident about what I should and shouldn’t let my children do. Fortunately, there are better parent resources now than when my own children were younger (see the American Academy of Pediatrics for recommendations on how to limit screen time based on age). But as youth work professionals, what can our role be in helping youth and their caregivers find the right balance, especially for those younger ages? 

The first thing we can do is be well-informed on the issue. Excessive screen time can interfere with developmental milestones in younger children, including language acquisition, social skill development, and physical coordination. The fast-paced and highly stimulating content of screen activities can also cause attention and focus issues with slower-paced activities such as reading and playing with toys. One study found that excessive screen time simulated for mice strongly impacted their ability to learn.  

Of course, not all screen time is bad. But particularly for very young children, their ability to learn needs a strong foundation built on real experience with the world—a stimulating environment rich in opportunity for sensory exploration, access to books, interactive activities that provide the emotional security for children to take positive risks, make mistakes, and have their own discoveries. 

Youth in the K-2 grades are still in a critical period for brain development because their sensory processing is still developing. Compared to learning via textbook, internet, or another abstract method of communication, sensory exploration:

• Develops understanding of the world
• Builds communication skills
• Grows vocabulary growth
• Exercises and hones fine and gross motor skills
• Promotes mental wellbeing, and
• Contributes to better learning retention

Introducing children at a young age to nature provides a rich sensory experience that helps them improve sensory processing. The outdoors can also enhance their emotional resilience and promote a sense of peace and well-being. (You can read more about this issue in my colleague Nicole Pokorney’s blog post, "Are youth getting enough nature in their lives.")

We’ve developed a fabulous curriculum called Budding Naturalists designed specifically to immerse children in the K-2 age group in nature-based sensory experiences. The curriculum contains six 90-minute lessons designed for an after school program or day camp experience that have youth touching, smelling, and listening to nature, learning about the characteristics of reptiles by shedding nylons from their arms like a molting snake, learning about winter survival in animals by making forts, or discovering the beauty of nature by creating ephemeral art. There’s a children’s book for each lesson, and, because parents are a child’s first educator, each session children bring home a handout for parents and caregivers on ways they can continue the learning at home. 

One of the greatest benefits in getting youth from a young age used to going outside and immersing themselves in outdoor discovery is that it can make regulating screen time easier as they get older. What do you think are the greatest benefits of trading screen time for green time? What are the challenges?

-- Jessica Pierson Russo, Extension educator

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