Have you heard of Emily Oster? Well, she’s only one of the most trusted parenting experts in the space. Oster is a mom and professor of economics at Brown University, and uses her background in data and analytics to help inform parents’ decision-making via her online platform, ParentData. Basically, she knows her stuff when it comes to pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting, and many moms and dads (including a few friends of mine) swear by her insight.

So of course, since here at Starglow where we feel strongly about screen/life balance, we were excited to read her new report on screen time called A Different Way to Look at Screen Time.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Oster’s report on screens for kids— the TLDR, if you will—and what parents should know:

Don’t trust every new “study” that comes out on screen time. But why? Oster says it’s almost impossible to accurately measure the effects that screens have on kids, because we’re not actually studying these effects from birth until, say, age 18. She says most studies are based on observational data—watching people’s behavior in their natural habitats as opposed to manipulated ones—which means “they can establish correlations between screen exposure and outcomes but cannot establish causality.” Basically, says Oster, “every time you read a panic headline about screens, look at the data source. If screen exposure isn’t randomized (which it basically never is because — see above — it’s impossible), you shouldn’t read farther.” Noted. 

Screen time comes at a cost. Oster isn’t saying that all screens are good or bad. Instead, it’s important to think about what your child would be doing if they weren’t on the iPad before bed or watching TV when they come home from school. Would they be reading? Drawing? Playing outside? She also gives the example that her kids get unlimited screen time on airplanes, because there isn’t anything else to do at that time. If her son has after-school activities, there’s less time for video games. This sees screens not as a punishment or reward, but rather as a choice of activity.

Always have a screen time game plan in place. In my house, for example, we allow my son to watch quality TV (like Bluey instead of YouTube) after school or before dinner, but we recently took away bedtime iPad time which naturally has been replaced by coloring or pretend play. By setting these boundaries and keeping to a screen time schedule, says Oster, your kid knows when to expect screen time and when not to, as long as you remain consistent about the rules. Sure, it may be difficult at first to cut out a video at a time when they had it before, but Oster advises staying strong, even if your kid tells you “you’re mean and I hate you” (been there, done that).

Keep the content age appropriate. Whatever you decide to let your kid watch, make sure it makes sense for their age bracket. Oster says there’s no evidence to show that watching violent shows or movies leads kids to become violent adults, but you still want to curate what they’re watching. She advises skimming a site like Common Sense Media, which lays out content in specific shows and movies that some parents may consider off-limits . She also says there’s no evidence in proving the differences in development between kids watching the iPad vs. TV.

So, what’s the biggest takeaway here? That the evidence on screen time for kids is hard to measure and is constantly changing. As Oster says, “please go forward with an understanding of opportunity cost, a plan for planning, and an avoidance of panic headlines!” Got it?

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