Growing Up Digital: What Early Educators Need to Know

If you are employed in a state that uses a registry to track professional development hours, you will be able to provide your registry ID (Stars, MOPID, Registry or other ECE ID#) after you have completed the quiz for the course. If you pass the quiz we will report your course completion to the state registry using the registry ID that you provide.

This course helps early childhood educators understand screen dependency and how fast-paced digital content can impact young children’s development, behavior, and self-regulation. Participants will learn practical, developmentally appropriate strategies to reduce screen reliance, support emotional regulation, and guide children toward meaningful play and social engagement. The course also includes real-world examples and communication tools for partnering with families to create healthy, consistent screen habits at home and in care. Course length – 3.0 hours.

Participants who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Identify developmental areas that may be impacted by excessive media exposure in children birth through five.

• Recognize common behavioral and emotional indicators associated with excessive media exposure in early childhood settings.

• Explain how excessive media exposure affects self-regulation and emotional development in young children.

• Apply developmentally appropriate strategies to support regulation and engagement in screen-limited classroom environments.

• Demonstrate supportive, relationship-based responses to media-related emotional dysregulation.