Protecting Childhood: A Perspective on Screens
By Helena Mitchell, M. Ed.
We talk about wanting children to be creative, imaginative, learn how to problem-solve and take ownership of their direction in life. In many fields where vision is needed these skills present opportunities for discovery, to be the first to come upon an idea or a way of approaching a challenge. All of our children can do this when they have practice in facing a blank canvas, and can access imaginative freedom to go out into the world to see what they find, construct connections and ideas and, ultimately, resolutions once they gather information or direct, hands-on experience.
What happens when we give them movies that show them how the princess looks, how the actors act, how every character is defined, what colors they wear, the sound of their voices? There isn’t room left to imagine how the story might unfold, right?
In Waldorf Education, when we tell a fairy tale or a nature story, or really any kind of story through the curriculum, the children have a chance to make a picture in their mind of how they think the details might be or even to change them. They can be the first. They can discover something, create something, and that’s a really powerful first experience.
But if it’s all finished, what is left for them to do?
It’s amazing when we can sit with our children, night after night, reading a book, chapter by chapter, allowing the images to unfold in their creative minds. Years later, if they see a movie version of a book we read with love so many cozy nights at home, they can remark, “Wow, that’s not at all how I imagined it.” They were the first to set the stage, the first to design the costumes, the first to see a landscape so beautiful because it came from the use of their active imaginations - seeing it for themselves.
They can like their picture better. They can own the story in their version of the telling.
It is quite difficult to make your own picture after it’s already been laid out for you. If we want children to have these important skills, we have to give them opportunities to have a chance, from an early age, to work out stories, create sets, scenes, action, imagine conflict and its ultimate resolution.
It’s a natural part of what we do in the curriculum and part of the day, too. We see this creativity and imagination in their unstructured, unhindered play time. We see it in their drawings and paintings. Their ideas come alive – without us telling them how the world has to be.
If corporations or organizations are looking for innovation, this is one benefit of not placing technology and pre-formed images in front of children from an early age and directing how they think or react or imagine. Unfettered creativity is how we foster innovation.
The reason we advocate against the use of screens in early childhood, or too much in the grades, is to promote this creativity and active imagination. When we say screen-free, we do not mean never; we mean not yet.
They will get to it. They won’t be left behind. Intuitively, our children will catch up – they need less instruction than we do to keep up with the ever-changing technological advances of our world!
If we’re afraid that our children won’t succeed, we are already undermining their potential, instead of having confidence that we can parent and they’ll be ok in the world. We must believe they will find their way and frankly, do so better and more satisfyingly when they have a hand in the creation, knowing we will be there to support them.
That’s the biggest reason we discourage screens before 8th grade. There are other practical reasons, of course – screen usage affects sleep, affects language development, causes rote play instead of imaginative play. Screen usage affects motor coordination when children are sitting and watching as opposed to playing with open ended materials such as blocks and fabric, odds and ends of recycled objects, art and craft supplies, cards and board games, sand and garden tools, or going to the park, riding bikes, swimming, or hiking or just hanging out outside doing nothing until an idea comes along. It negatively affects eye development - there’s always an adrenaline rush, a desire for more, a feel good addictive component to it – which is hard to break.
We all want the best for our children, and we all believe our decisions are the right ones for our children’s optimal growth and development. At Detroit Waldorf School, we believe childhood is about instilling in children a belief of infinite possibility, of their important role in the world at-large, and of the need to create confidence in their ability to try anything. This only happens when we are hands-on, focused, and aware of what is happening right here, right now.
Resources on Screen-Free Childhood:
Helena Mitchell is Early Childhood Pedagogical Chair and a preKindergarten teacher at Detroit Waldorf School. She is also a Waldorf parent and Waldorf alumnus.