Why Online Preschools are a Digital Disservice to Children

3 min

Jul 15, 2024

By Christle Seal, Director of Educational Programs at The Malvern School

�As early childhood education has increasingly become focused on what is called �rigor,� or an academic focus, which means that kids spend a lot of time in chairs, online preschools have gained a foothold.�

This is what the Washington Post reported in January. While online preschools may be gaining traction, it doesn�t make the concept � or adoption � any less alarming. Plain and simple, online preschools are a digital disservice to our children. Boiling down to hardly more than screen-based babysitters, online preschools shortchange the very kids they claim to be helping and fly in the face of critical research and guidance from the vast majority of early childhood experts. This is why their inexpensive price tags today will cost our kids more tomorrow:

Children learn best through hands-on, active play with highly qualified teachers.

Summed up in one sentence, the key to effective early childhood education is this. I recently participated in the largest ever NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) Public Policy Forum and over the course of three days, nearly every topic of conversation came back to how essential it is to have highly educated, well-qualified teachers actively engaging with children. When either piece is compromised � whether it�s a live teacher without the right qualifications, or an online setting that doesn�t allow the same type of connection � there will inevitably be major missed learning opportunities that detract from the value of early childhood education. Whereas online preschool programs tend to be more passive, without back and forth exchange between teachers and students, an educated teacher in the classroom is in the middle of the action and can take learning where it needs to go. Observing how children are engaging with the lesson or activity and adapting plans as needed helps kids get the most out of every teachable moment.

Social-emotional development suffers with online-only learning.

Yes, young children can memorize their letters, shapes, and numbers with the help of online tools, but there is so much more to preschool than rote learning (memorizing information through repetition). Preschool is prime time for kids� social-emotional development, and the ways they learn to communicate, make friends, express their feelings and conduct themselves around others during these formative years has a large impact on their lives as they mature. According to school psychologists, �Research has shown that social-emotional skills are crucial for children to become successful both socially and academically.� These social-emotional skills can only take shape when children interact with peers and trusted adults in the real world � not when they�re sitting behind screens. Think about how difficult it is as an adult to �read the room� on a conference call or webinar. How could a 4-year-old possibly learn about social cues, for example, in the same environment? As our country needs healthy social-emotional development now more than ever, this shortcoming isn�t only detrimental to individual children but also to our society as a whole.

Research continues to demonstrate the harmful effects of excessive screen time.

Acknowledging negative health and developmental effects � which include attention problems, vision damage and interference with sleep cycles, to name a few � the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) tightened its guidance on screen time in 2016. They now recommend parents limit screen time for children ages two to five to one hour of high-quality programming per day (and forego screen time completely for children younger than two). Since then, research has continued to probe how screen time impacts young children. In fact, the Cleveland Clinic recently reported, � Too Much Screen Time Harmful for Kids� Development (Especially Those Under Age 5),� based on a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics earlier this year. Pediatrician Skyler Kalady, MD, was not directly involved with the research but summarized the study�s findings in saying, �Early exposure to excessive screen time at 24 months was predictive of lower developmental outcomes at 36 months. And similarly, increased screen time exposure at 36 months also was related to decreased developmental outcomes at 60 months.� There�s plenty of more research where this came from, all of which brings into question why children would be encouraged to spend more time in front of a screen when they need � and deserve � an education that helps them meet their highest potential.

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Why Online Preschools are a Digital Disservice to Children

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