Technology Resources for Families of Young Children

Reviewed:

This topical guide will introduce you to important books, videos, and information resources available from the EI Clearinghouse and other sources. Contact us via online form or by phone (1-877-275-3227) to request a resource listed below (or ask your local public librarian). Note that some videos may be viewed online, and journal titles will take you to the publisher’s homepage.

parent and child reading

Books

The big disconnect : protecting childhood and family relationships in the digital age
Catherine Steiner-Adair
Harper, 2013
This book offers insights and advice that can help parents achieve greater understanding, authority, and confidence as they come up against the tech revolution and how families can combat the disconnection we are experiencing from our extreme device dependence.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: HQ 799.2 .St351 2013

Boosting Brain Power : 52 Ways to Use What Science Tells Us
Jill Stamm
Gryphon House, 2016
This book provides 52 strategies – one for every week of the year – to help caregivers stimulate healthy brain growth in young children.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: BF 723 .C5 .S73 2016

Calling All Minds : How to Think and Create Like an Inventor
Temple Grandin
Philomel Books, 2018
In this book, Temple Grandin creates a blueprint for different ways to look at the world. And more than a call to action, she gives a call to imagination, and shows readers that there is truly no single way to approach any given problem–but that an open and inquisitive mind is always key.
Also available as an eBook and mp3 (via cloudLibrary).
Call#: Q 164 .G67 2018

Creative Investigations in Early Engineering and Technology
Angela Eckhoff
Gryphon House, 2018
This book helps teachers create a more well-rounded STEM learning program by: encouraging children to think, make, tinker and innovate, introducing engineering skills such as coding in a developmentally appropriate way, leveraging children’s use of digital technologies to help them learn new skills, and promoting active engagement and participation in classroom learning.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: TA 147 .E25 2018

The Design of Childhood : How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids
Alexandra Lange
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018
This book reveals the histories behind the human-made elements in our child’s landscape, showing how those elements affect kids’ behavior, values, and health.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: GV 425 .L36 2018

Digital Decisions : Choosing the Right Technology Tools for Early Childhood
Fran Simon & Karen Nemeth
Gryphon House, 2012
This book will help caregivers evaluate the tools and opportunities technology has to offer and integrate them into early childhood experiences.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: LB 1139.35 .C64S56 2012

Digital for Good : Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World
Richard Calutta
Harvard Business Review Press, 2021
This book offers a refreshingly positive framework for preparing kids to be successful in a digital world and effective digital citizens.
Also available as an eBook 

Game On! Screen-Free Fun for Children Two and Up
Linda Armstrong
Redleaf Press, 2018
This book is a collection of screen-free, traditional games and activities for young children that require nothing more than people and their brains to play. All games and activities are adaptable according to the age of the children, their interests, and their abilities.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: GV 1201 .A76 2018

Instructional Technology in Early Childhood : Teaching in the Digital Age
Howard Parette & Craig Blum
Brookes Publishing, 2013
This book provides concrete examples of how to integrate readily available technologies that can easily support young children’s learning.
Call#: LB 1139.35 .C64 P37 2013

Loose Parts 2 : Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers
Lisa Daly & Miriam Beloglovsky
Redleaf Press, 2016
Infants and toddlers learn through investigating, discovering, and experimenting with their surroundings. This book provides ideas to inspire safe loose parts play with your infants and toddlers.
Call#: LB 1139.35 .P55 B45 2016

Ollie Outside : Screen-free fun
Michael Oberschneider
Free Spirit Publishing, 2016
Ollie has a big imagination and big plans for summer. But no one in his family wants to go outside and play. How can Ollie get his family to shut off their gadgets and play together?
Call#: PZ 7 .Ob28 2016

Purposeful Play : A Teacher’s Guide to Igniting Deep & Joyful Learning Across the Day
Kristine Mraz, et al.
Heinemann, 2016
This book shares ways to: optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning, teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset, bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day.
Call#: LB 1139.35 .P55 M73 2016

Raising Humans in a Digital World : Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology
Diana Graber
Thomas Nelson, 2019
This book is packed with at-home discussion topics and enjoyable activities that any busy family can slip into their daily routine. Full of practical tips grounded in academic research and hands-on experience, this book gives parents a guide to raising digital kids who will become the positive and successful leaders our world so desperately needs.
Available only as an eBook and mp3 (via cloudLibrary).

Screen-Free Fun : 400 Activities for the Whole Family
Shannon Philpott-Sanders
Simon & Schuster, 2018
This book offers over 400 ideas to disconnect from tech devices and reconnect with our families in a healthier way.
Also available as an eBook.
Call#: GV 182.8 .P55 2018

Tap, Click, Read : Growing Readers in a World of Screens
Lisa Guernsey & Michael Levine
Jossey-Bass, 2015
This book gives educators and parents the tools and information they need to help children grow into strong, passionate readers who are skilled at using media and technology of all kinds—print, digital, and everything in between.
Call#: LC 149.5 .G93 2015

Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years
Chip Donohue, Editor
Routledge, 2015
This book offers early childhood teacher educators, professional development providers, and early childhood educators in pre-service, in-service, and continuing education settings a thought-provoking guide to effective, appropriate, and intentional use of technology with young children.
Call#: LB 1139.35 .C64 D7193 2015

Techwise Infant and Toddler Teachers : Making Sense of Screen Media for Children Under 3
Patricia Cantor & Mary Cornish
Information Age Publishing, 2016
Making sense of the complex issues associated with screen media in the lives of children under 3 can be challenging for the adults who care for them. This book, focused specifically on infants and toddlers, explores why and how infant and toddler caregivers need to be techwise in order to understand the implications of screen media for children’s learning and development.
Call#: LB1139.35 .C64 C37 2016

Videos

This series of videos from the Center on Technology and Disability discusses implications of technology use as an early learning tool for young children with and without disabilities.

Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media presents these videos that highlight the intersections of child development and media and the power of human interactions.

Organizations

Articles

Paediatrics and Child Health, 22(8), 461-468
Screen time and young children: Promoting health and development in a digital world
Canadian Paediatric Society, Digital Health Task Force. (2017)
This position statement examines the potential benefits and risks of screen media in children younger than 5 years, focusing on developmental, psychosocial and physical health.

Exchange, 36(3), 62-65
Using Technology to Communicate with Parents: Tool or Taboo?
Gigi Schweikert. (2014)
This article provides insight into using technology to communicate with parents in the early childhood setting. The author discusses the benefits and limitations of technology and the importance of the face-to-face relationship.

Early Learning and Educational Technology Policy Brief – U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice – Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation/Administration for Children and Families

Moving Beyond Screen Time : Redefining Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use in Early Childhood Education – Rand Corporation

Media and Young Minds AAP Policy Statement – American Academy of Pediatrics

NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center Position Statement: Technology and Interactive Media – National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media

NextGen Technology: Insights and Recommendations to Support the Parents of Children Ages 0–3 – The Early Learning Lab

Web Resources

Media and Children Communication Toolkit
These tools are designed to help pediatricians and health professionals understand and implement the AAP recommendations on children and media, and to discuss the topic with parents and families.

Healthy Digital Media Use Habits for Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers
Media in all forms, including TV, computers, and smartphones can affect how children feel, learn, think, and behave. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages you to help your children develop healthy media use habits early on. Also in Spanish