Turning Screen Time Into Learning Time

The project will educate parents/caregivers on the positive and negative impacts that media and tech have on the learning, social development & behaviors of young children. This project will provide parental decision-making advice, training & tools to choose quality media products to help maximize the positive impact of media on children, ages 2-8, with a particular focus on low-income Latino families. Research shows that quality digital media & technology can have positive effects on young children’s language development & show positive relationships to creativity & self-esteem. Diverse early experiences with digital media can offer young children outlets for creativity & exploration that facilitate big leaps in learning. This project will i) help parents use media to enrich their children’s learning and establish healthy media diets for their families ii) give providers easy to use tools to engage with parents iii) spur the creation of more quality digital media for young children

Common Sense will scale the program by making content widely available (in both English and Spanish) on their web platform. National early childhood and parent education organizations, (e.g. EduCare, Parents as Teachers, Head Start) will be engaged to discuss opportunities to incorporate early childhood program and resources into their curriculum, outreach, and parent education programs. Partnering with these organizations will help Common Sense leverage the expertise of their early childhood staff, while at the same time scale their programs, with a focus on low-income Latino families. Common Sense will also continue to work at the policy level, in California and across the nation, to advocate for early childhood education and for measures that will provide access to high-quality early learning experiences and engagements that lay the foundation for strong cognition and character, and are key to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. Millions of families will be impacted – including low-income/Latino families within the next five years.

Vision

Common Sense Early Childhood Advocates

The big vision is to leverage the Common Sense web platform and mobilize millions of Common Sense parent and teacher members to advocate for early childhood programs and funding across the country. This will require a significantly expanded budget for web and mobile platform enhancements, messaging and communication campaigns, and policy/advocacy staff support.

Common Sense Media

Turning Screen Time Into Learning Time

Model and Strategy

Impact

Leadership

Jim Steyer