Are iPhones Bad for Kids？
iPhone对孩子有害吗？
Pamela Druckerman 帕梅拉·德鲁克曼
There's one in every neighborhood: a parent who allows unlimited screen time. They exist to make the rest of us feel better. Our own offspring might spend hours texting or watching cartoons. But at least we have rules.
When we pass these other families in the supermarket， their dazed toddlers staring into iPads， we think — smug but terrified — we're not that bad.
Or are we？ Two new books about kids and screens — Anya Kamenetz's “The Art of Screen Time” and Naomi Schaefer Riley's “Be the Parent，Please” — examine the evidence and offer advice for anxious parents. How much screen time is too much？ And might screens be just another way to guilt parents — and mothers， in particular — into thinking that we're not doing enough？
Alas， the evidence is incomplete. Researchers aren't allowed to overstimulate a random sample of babies to see what happens to their brains. Scientists even have trouble running studies in which some participants watch less; one said he could get families to reduce their screen times only by 20 minutes. And the iPad hasn't even celebrated its eighth birthday.
But there are worrying correlations. Kids who watch more than two hours of TV per day have double the risk of childhood obesity. Those who watch screens before bed sleep less， making it harder to concentrate and learn. And simulated violence can desensitize children to real-life suffering，and is linked to increased anxiety and fear.
Kamenetz is the more soothing voice. She points out that not every child will suffer ill effects. As with food allergies， “for lots of kids， a peanut is just a peanut.” She advocates an approach inspired by Michael Pollan's well-known dictate on food: “Enjoy screens. Not too much. Mostly with others.”
Riley advocates radically scaling back children's screen time， and intensively surveilling online behavior. “Many kids will be fine even without these restrictions， and some kids will fall into trouble even with them. But as parents， it's time for us to stop playing the odds.”
Even if digital media isn't diabolical， it has opportunity costs. The hours kids spend on devices is time they could have spent reading， studying， interacting with other humans or frolicking outdoors.
In France， where I live， parents are struggling to get their heads around the dangers. The government recently announced that， from September， it will ban phones in primary and secondary schools， for reasons of “public health.”Meal times are typically sacrosanct， screen-free zones.
Most French parents already believe in a conclusion that Kamenetz and Riley endorse: If you don't constantly entertain kids， they'll learn to entertain themselves. And the French are suspicious of too much of anything. The biggest reason I hear for why kids don't spend more time on devices isn't that screens are terrible; it's that they don't have time.
That's basically Kamenetz's message too. Her best advice might be to prioritize other activities， and allow screens only afterward.
Sleep is paramount: She recommends no screens before bedtime， and none in bedrooms， ever. And she advocates communication over surveillance，making questions like “what did you see online today？” part of dinnertime conversations.
I liked Kamenetz's unpanicky， thoughtful critique. While it wasn't thrilling to consume even well-written books on kids and screens， it was worth reflecting on the evidence， and reckoning with my family's relationship to these consuming devices.
每个住宅区都有一位：一位不限制看屏幕时间的家长。他们的存在让我们其他人感觉好一点。我们自己的下一代可能会花几个小时发信息或者看卡通片。但是，至少我们有规矩。
当我们在超市里从这样一家人身边走过时，他们神情恍惚的小孩盯着iPad，我们洋洋得意但又不无惊恐地想：我们还没有那么糟。
是这样吗？两本关于孩子和屏幕的新书——阿妮娅·卡姆内茨的《看屏幕时间的艺术》和娜奥米·谢弗·赖利的《请做个像样的家长》——检视证据并为焦虑的家长出谋划策。看屏幕时间多长算是过度？或许屏幕只不过是让家长（尤其是母亲）内疚、让我们觉得自己做得不够的另一种方式？
唉，证据并不完善。研究人员不能过分刺激随机挑选的婴儿以了解他们的大脑受到何种影响。科学家甚至难以开展让有些参与者减少观看的研究；有人说，他只能让全家人把看屏幕时间减少20分钟。而且iPad问世还不到8年。
不过，存在令人不安的关联。每天看电视超过两小时的孩子出现童年肥胖的风险增加一倍。睡前看屏幕的孩子睡眠较少，所以更难集中精力和学习。虚拟暴力行为可能会使孩子对现实生活中的痛苦感觉迟钝，与焦虑和恐惧加剧也相关。
卡姆内茨的观点比较令人宽慰。她指出，并非所有孩子都会受到不良影响。如同食物过敏一样，“对许多孩子来说，花生就是花生”。她从迈克尔·波伦著名的饮食原则中得到启发，主张这样一种做法：“享受屏幕乐趣。不要过度。以和别人一起看为主。”
赖利主张大幅度减少孩子的看屏幕时间，并且严密监控网上行为。“许多孩子即便没有这些限制也没问题，有些孩子即便有这些限制也会陷入麻烦。但是，作为家长，我们现在不能再碰运气了。”
即便数字媒体并非糟糕透顶，也是有机会成本的。孩子花在电子设备上的时间是他们本可以用来看书、学习、与其他人互动或者在户外玩耍的时间。
在我生活的法国，家长在努力弄清这些危险。政府最近宣布，出于“公共卫生”的原因，从9月起将禁止在中小学使用手机。进餐时间通常是神圣的远离屏幕的时间。
大多数法国家长早已深信卡姆内茨和赖利支持的结论：如果你不时常带孩子娱乐，他们就会学着自娱自乐。而法国人对任何过度的事情都感到怀疑。我听到的孩子们不花更多时间玩电子设备的最主要原因不是屏幕危害极大，而是他们没时间。
这基本上也是卡姆内茨的意思。她最好的建议可能是优先展开其他活动，过后才允许看屏幕。
睡眠最重要：她建议睡前不要看屏幕，在卧室绝对不看屏幕。她主张沟通重于监控，把“你今天在网上看到什么了”之类的问题变成晚餐对话的一部分。
我喜欢卡姆内茨从容不迫、思维缜密的评论。阅读关于孩子和屏幕的哪怕上乘之作都不是什么激动人心的事，但有必要反思证据，慎重思考我全家与这些令人着迷的电子设备的关系。（葛雪蕾译自美国《纽约时报》网站3月8日文章）
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