What Babies Can't Learn from Screens by Dr. Jill Uhlenberg

 

Cultural trends indicate that many adults are not only offering, but encouraging infants to interact with screens. This is despite the research that has shown the need for very young children to experience real people and objects (Francis & Whitely, 2015; Kuhl, 2010) in order to develop spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning is an important part of mathematics that depends on children’s manipulation of real objects and experiences with real people. Here are some of the reasons for providing these experiences rather than resorting to screen time. Items 3-6 below are ideas from (Piaget and Inhelder (1967).

What babies can’t learn from screens:

1. Sensory development. How things (I am including people here!) taste, smell, feel. While screens can provide sound and colors, they limit the full sensory experiences involved with real objects.

2. Textures. Again these can be depicted visually but screens cannot engage children with differences in textures other than visually. 

3. Depth perception. Very young infants begin their understanding of space with the concepts of near and far. On a screen everything is the same distance from the infant—distant objects are smaller and nearby objects are larger, but this may just be size rather than closeness. 

4. Separation of objects. On a screen, everything is all part of one thing—the screen. Real objects are separate from each other. Infants learn that objects are separate by grasping and handling them.

5. Object permanence. This begins early in life through learning the continuity of objects. By turning objects in their hands, babies learn that the object continues on different sides. 

6. Object constancy. A solid object’s size and shape does not change. On a screen we can easily enlarge or reduce these. This is the beginning of concepts of conservation.

I admit to allowing my grandchildren use of tablets and other screens. However, my goal has been to ensure that more time is spent with real people and objects than screens. Francis and Whitely (2015) report that young children do not readily transfer knowledge about two-dimensional objects to three-dimensional objects. They need practical experiences examining all kinds of objects in order to develop a
strong understanding of spatial reasoning.

For ideas on supporting your infants and toddlers as they interact with objects, click on Contents and Containers, Block Play  Exploring Light and Exploring Sound.  

Francis, K., & Whitely, W. (2015). Interactions between three dimensions and two dimensions. In B. Davis et al., (Eds.), Spatial reasoning in the early years: Principles, assertions, and speculations (pp. 121-136). New York: Routledge.

Kuhl, P. (October, 2010). The linguistic genius of babies. Retrieved from Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies | TED Talk

Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1967). The child’s conception of space. New York, NY: Norton.