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The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume VI, Issue 1, February 19, 2014
Dear FINE Members,
Research shows that children ages 0–8 spend an average of three hours a day engaging with various forms of media, including television, computers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles. Surprising, perhaps, is the finding that children under the age of 2 spend twice as much time watching television and videos as they do reading books, or being read to.1
How do parents make choices about the use of media to enhance young children’s development? Our FINE Newsletter takes a close look at parents’ views and practices around the use of digital media for learning. Based on the Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s new study, Learning at Home: Families’ Educational Media Use in America, Lori Takeuchi reports that parents are quite proactive in how they select educational media for their children. Nonetheless, parents seek guidance, and teachers, librarians, and others can point families to age-appropriate television shows, games, apps, and websites that have educational value.
Our Research Spotlight highlights research reports and articles about interesting trends: digital media offer opportunities for children’s learning anywhere, anytime; parents are more likely to consider the educational benefits rather than the downsides of technology for their children; and decisions about children’s media engagement should be informed by content, context, and the individual child.
We also compile resources related to family-school partnerships as well as family engagement policy in our Family Involvement News.
Join our efforts to explore digital media and learning—take our one-question web poll today!
With best wishes,
Harvard Family Research Project FINE Team
Voices From the Field
Research Spotlight
Families and Digital Media in Young Children's Learning
Family Involvement News
Contact Us
As always, we invite your feedback on the topics we explore in this FINE Newsletter and encourage you to pass on this issue to interested friends and colleagues. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to join the conversation and stay informed!
1 Rideout, V. (2013). Zero to eight: Children's media use in America 2013. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/zero-to-eight-childrens-media-use-in-america-2013
© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project