Lights out, laptops on: Early childhood teachers spend nap time learning about screen time

SINGAPORE – Early childhood educators across Singapore are being equipped with new strategies to manage screen exposure at their centres, as concerns grow over the impact of digital devices on the country’s youngest learners.

More than 800 educators attended a screen time webinar by the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) in January, where they explored the distinction between active and passive screen time, the developmental impact on infants, and strategies to address and manage screen time.

The session comes as Singapore ramps up guidance on digital use for the young. In January 2025, the Ministry of Health published guidelines to manage the use of screens, recommending zero screen time for children under 18 months and less than an hour daily for those aged 18 months to six years.

The webinar is part of NIEC’s Naptime Webinar series – taking place during children’s nap times – that has been running since September 2020, and has covered topics such as diversity, leadership, and classroom management.

These complimentary webinars are offered to all in-service early childhood educators, and typically attract between 300 and 800 participants. Recent sessions have seen a rise in attendance, said NIEC.

For veteran teacher Sumithra Subramaniam, the webinar on screen time was a wake-up call about “hidden” screen exposure.

“I was astonished to learn that even if the children aren’t facing the screen – like if we’re playing a song from YouTube in the background – that is still considered passive screen time,” said the vice-principal of an infant-care centre.

Madam Sumithra, who has 25 years of experience in the education sector, said that infants typically have zero screen time, except for background music. For older children, screen time is used minimally for activities like dance-along sessions or brief five-minute displays during show-and-tell.

Although teacher interaction remains the primary form of engagement across all age groups, learning about passive screen time prompted Madam Sumithra to pivot back to more traditional methods.

“We are trying to use our own voices more authentically now (for singing sessions),” she said. “It might not be perfectly in sync with a professional recording, but the infants respond so much better to a teacher’s live interaction.”

Madam Sumithra recalled how when she first started as an educator, educators crafted materials by hand – laminated classroom materials and handheld instruments. “It’s like we’re going back to that time again,” she said.

Educators at the webinar had expressed concern over whether background music should be considered as screen time, and asked about other apps and programmes in the market, said NIEC lead lecturer D.K. Gowri Danakodi, who led the webinar.

“These questions reveal a broader concern about balancing convenience with developmentally appropriate practices,” she said.

During the webinar, Ms Gowri provided insights on infant brain development, and how high screen use could negatively impact executive functioning, the ability to interpret social cues, emotional regulation, and language development.

To combat these concerns, teachers were introduced to strategies like the “ABC method”. This approach encourages mindful audio selection, emphasises the importance of being present and prioritising joint play over digital distractions, and promotes the creation of screen-free zones in shared spaces.

However, the battle against unhealthy screen time involves a deep partnership with parents, said Ms Gowri.

During the webinar, educators also learnt how to support parents in various screen time management strategies, like modelling healthy habits, and having predictable routines to help infants develop a sense of control over their environment.

“Parents are not trained, and (educators) understand that,” she said. “We work with empathy as partners and navigate this space with them by giving them suggestions – like turning off the background television first, and then gradually teach them other methods.”

NIEC said it will explore running more screen time-focused webinars in the future, due to their popularity.

Madam Sumithra noted that over the years, technology has played a significant role in facilitating learning and preparation. It is incorporated intentionally – not as a source of distraction, but as a purposeful tool to support learning, she said.

For Kindergarten 1 and 2 children, an iPad might be shared within a class to snap photos of insects during a garden inquiry, for example. “The screen acts as a tool to capture their discovery, but they would not be watching anything using the iPads,” she explained.

Madam Sumithra said artificial intelligence plays a significant role in streamlining her research and enhancing her lesson planning. However, she maintained that the actual teaching process is human-driven.

From interacting with her pupils to showing emotions while reading a story book, Madam Sumithra firmly believes that no algorithm can replace an educator’s intuition.

“AI is intelligent, but it cannot emote,” she said. “If AI is telling a story, it won’t stop to ask for children’s responses, for example, but I can.”

As a teacher, she also knows and understands her pupils’ needs best. “We are dealing with vulnerable children, we need to show them our emotions.”