A lot of children use a variety of screens today. Screen use covered in this workshop includes smart phones, ipads/tablets, TV, and games. Screens are now part of most children’s daily activities, but what is known about screen use and children’s interactions with screens?

This 2 hour workshop reviews the research on children’s screen use, recommendations for use, and its benefits and challenges for neurodiverse and neurotypical children. The workshop then looks at physical play, pretend play, and screens and what the evidence is (so far) on the interaction between these three areas of children’s activities. Within this knowledge we will uncover any differences or similarities between play (physical and pretend) and screens.

With this background knowledge, the workshop then considers the implications for use of screens and how use of screens interacts with children’s physical and pretend play. How does screen use hinder or help physical play or spontaneous pretend play? Do children embed screen use in their play? What is digital play? What do we need to consider when discussing screen use and play with parents and carers for both neurodiverse and neurotypical children?

This workshop invited discussion from participants to share their experiences and approaches with screens and play when working with families and their children.