The Responsibility Communications Media Owes the World’s Children

Before their first birthday, most children begin watching television. Before the age of two, they have nearly three hours of screen time a day, while reading time has decreased to an average of twenty minutes a day.* 

Reading time is even lower in developing countries, as less than half of the world’s population of children has three or more children’s books in their home. During their most formative years, children are interacting with television more than any other form of media.

Television has every opportunity to be a powerful enrichment tool for children. Commercial broadcasters in the US are legally required to air at least three hours of children’s educational programming per week, clearly acknowledging the positive role television can play in development. However, only 1 in 8 of children’s programs meet high quality educational standards, and only a slight percentage of broadcasters air more than the required three hours each week, despite most children watching that much television in just a day. Broadcasters are consistently underestimating the significance of child viewership.

Given the importance of early childhood development and the amount of screen time children have, communications media should be contributing to better developmental education. Making high quality children’s programming a priority is one solution, but it’s not the only solution— broadcasters can contribute to developmental enrichment outside of the industry. While accessible children’s media is crucial, it’s more crucial to have well-equipped adults helping children process that media.

That’s why PlayBox Technology founded the Don Ash Charity Foundation to partner with UNICEF Bulgaria in bringing children the resources and care they need to excel in adulthood. Join us in building a better future for children around the world!

 *Based on US statistics.