Content, context, and the needs of the individual child. This triad of considerations – drawn from journalist Lisa Guernsey’s 2007 book, “Into the Minds of Babes” – forms the core of the Fred Rogers Center’s Framework for Quality in Children’s Digital Media. Under this rubric, the generic term “screen time” ceases to be a useful measuring stick for young children’s media...
Read MoreSupport for children in early childhood is still a priority in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In fact, the Pittsburgh area has become a center for those who care deeply about supporting learning for very young children and exploring the potential for early learning with technology and digital media. In Melissa Butler’s kindergarten classroom at Pittsburgh Allegany, an elementary school on the city’s...
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Ellen Wartella believes media do have learning potential in early childhood. And she should know. Wartella has been a senior fellow here at the Fred Rogers Center since 2006. She is professor of communication and human development and social policy at Northwestern University and has been studying the impact of media on children for more than 30 years. Wartella says that...
Read MoreTo an unprecedented extent, we live in a screen-saturated world. Of particular interest and concern in recent years is the impact on young children. A common response to this concern is to treat TV or other electronic media as if it is a mass substance like a drug or high-calorie food. People, for example, ask, “how many hours of TV should...
Read MoreAs touchscreen tablets became the breakaway holiday gift this past year for children—even for tots still learning to walk and talk—many parents are still feeling a little confused and skeptical about this new trend. Is the digital deluge good or bad for kids? And, critically, do the educational apps on the iPad and Android-enabled devices that claim to help children...
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Fred Rogers had a unique understanding of young children’s sensitivities and needs as well as the challenges families and educators face. He knew that caring adults make the difference in a child’s life. He set the highest possible standards for his work—standards grounded in research on how children grow and develop, his own years of observing and learning from young...
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