Beyond Screen Time Guilt: The Role of TV and Video in Early Child Development by Cary Bazalgette offers a fresh and insightful perspective on babies’ and toddlers’ relationship with moving-image media. Forget the guilt-inducing screen time rules and dire warnings about developmental harm—this book reveals what’s really happening when your little one is captivated by their favourite show.
Drawing on meticulous observational research and 35 years of media education expertise, Cary Bazalgette uncovers the remarkable ways in which children under three actively engage with film and television. Bazalgette critiques the flawed research behind screen time rules, exposing the limitations of surveys and experimental studies in this context. She provides vivid examples of typical behaviours, such as spontaneous laughter, frightened responses, and apparent "addiction," while analysing the learning challenges that young children eagerly embrace. The book also emphasises the value of shared viewing experiences and offers detailed insights into how specific TV episodes foster learning.
With its clear style, good humour, and evidence-based reassurance, Beyond Screen Time Guilt is an essential read for parents, early childhood practitioners, and students. It transforms how we understand the relationship between young children and moving-image media, offering a refreshing and informed alternative to screen-use guidelines.
Table of Contents:
Introduction. Chapter 1 What "screen time" really involves. Chapter 2 What "screen time" research has – and hasn't – told us. Chapter 3 The challenges of learning to understand moving-image media. Chapter 4 Not "terrible twos" but "dedicated learners". Chapter 5 Essential elements of narrative, and why they're important. Chapter 6 Four types of viewing behaviour, and why parents needn't worry. Chapter 7 Learning why and when to laugh, and how to deal with fear. Chapter 8 Learning how to recognise "real" and "pretend". Chapter 9 Learning how to become part of the family culture. Chapter 10 Analyses of Cocomelon and Bluey, and why they're successful. Chapter 11 How viewing skills develop: "using it up" and "moving on". Chapter 12 Institutional and policy contexts of baby-and-toddler TV and video. Conclusion.
About the Author :
Cary Bazalgette is an Honorary Research Associate at UCL Institute of Education, within the Department of Culture, Communication and Media. She specialises in how people learn to understand moving-image media. After teaching in London schools, she worked at the British Film Institute from 1979 to 2007, including eight years as Head of Education. Her primary focus has been on developing good practices in media education and advocating for its importance as an essential entitlement for all learners. Currently, her research focuses on how children begin learning about moving-image media before age three. Cary draws on her 35 years of experience in education about moving-image media, as well as her personal experiences as a parent and grandparent. For more information, visit www.carybazalgette.net.
Review :
“At last! A measured approach to 0-3’s viewing of moving image media that does not impose screen-use rules, but reveals a closely observed world, opening our eyes to the many ways in which babies and infants interpret and enjoy moving images.”
Lydia Plowman, Professor Emerita, University of Edinburgh
“Bazalgette offers fascinating insights into children’s moving-image experiences: a refreshing and important alternative to 'screen time' rules. Based on meticulous research and years working with teachers and parents, this book will appeal to a wide general readership.”
David Buckingham, Honorary Professor, UCL Institute of Education; Emeritus Professor, Loughborough University
