Be Tech Wise With Preschoolers

To help parents and caregivers support their children as they grow and develop in a world full of screens, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay (Action Network) have developed Be Tech Wise With Preschoolers!

Specifically designed for families with children ages 3 to 5 years, Be Tech Wise With Preschoolers! covers ways that parents and caregivers can encourage their child’s budding communication, social-emotional, and learning skills—as well as tips for achieving healthy screen time habits—at a unique and critical point in child development. 

Available in English and Spanish, the resource also answers the following questions:

•    Should I buy my child a tablet?
•    Does my child need apps to help them learn?
•    How can I occupy my preschooler while caring for a new baby?

This family-friendly handout is well suited for sharing in pediatrician, family practice, and other medical offices and outpatient therapy clinics; libraries, day care centers and preschools; and all other settings where information is provided to parents and caregivers of young children. The PDF can also be printed and/or distributed electronically through early intervention programs, parent support groups, and other networks.

ASHA and the Screen Time Action Network grant free blanket permission for the handout to be reprinted in any quantity without modification—for educational purposes.

Note: Screens and technology in this resource refer to popular technology devices such as smartphones, not augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices that are used to enable communication. AAC devices should be used at all times, in an interactive way.

Be Tech Wise With Preschoolers! was developed by the following child development experts:

Mark Bertin, MD
Alice Hanscam, CPC
Alyssa Loberti, MS, CCC-SLP
Diane Paul, PhD, CCC-SLP