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In our work with educators and parents, WFSU\u2019s Education and Engagement team rarely encounters push-back regarding preschoolers\u2019 exposure to PBS KIDS content. I believe a big reason is the trust <\/em>our local friends place in PBS KIDS. (Incidentally, that trust is echoed nationwide <\/a>in national surveys year after year). Also, like our partner outreach teams around the country, we use highly engaging off-screen learning activities before, during and after we feature media content. At our outreach and engagement gigs, kids, educators and parents have fun–and we do too. Lastly, our team regularly acknowledges the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>, who advises no more than one hour daily of screen-time for preschoolers over the age of two. This stance mirrors conventional wisdom about parents as timekeepers of device use. So, the adults with whom we work seem to agree that our team promotes sound content, engaging learning experiences and reasonable recommendations for screen-time. I like to think of it this way: Our team and PBS KIDS provides the Quality <\/em>and the adults in kids\u2019 lives oversee theQuantity<\/em>of time they spend with devices.<\/p>\n Typically, individuals who are skeptical or opposed to screen-time for preschoolers aren\u2019t familiar with the values that undergird PBS KIDS content–the research-based, pro-social, curriculum-derived programs and resources that I\u2019ve come to love as an educator and grandmother. They likely aren\u2019t aware that educational programming positively impacts school readiness (e.g., Linebarger & Piotrowski, 2009; Wright, et al, 2001).<\/p>\n Sure, common concerns about screen-time are incredibly valid: They range from worries about obesity and lack of outdoor activity to interference with sleep and school readiness. But, aside from my Quality\/Quantity adage above, what are some specific points educators and parents can use to make the case for thoughtful digital learning with preschoolers?<\/p>\n Enter Sara DeWitt. With the aim of dissuading concerns about children as users of media, DeWitt, VP of PBS KIDS Digital, spoke at a 2017 TED Talk conference. The title of her talk? Three Fears about Screen Time for Kids–and Why They\u2019re Not True<\/a>. DeWitt begins with the premise that most adults check their phones up to 50 times a day. By proxy then, hand-held devices are an ever-present part of their children\u2019s world. DeWitt argues smart phones and other digital devices have now have permeated our lives and culture, so we should think of them as tools <\/em>with important potential<\/em>.<\/p>\n