It’s time to move beyond the screen-time debate and adapt to today’s tech-filled childhood, says Ann-Marie Piper…
Spend a little time in early years spaces online and it quickly becomes clear that conversations about digital technology often circle back to one thing: screen time limits.
As a Reception teacher, I found myself regularly wrestling with this. How do we acknowledge the digital world children are growing up in, while also ensuring they are not simply sitting back and passively consuming?
Over time, I realised the answer wasn’t about removing digital experiences altogether. Ignoring them often felt more uncomfortable than engaging with them.
Digital technology isn’t something children suddenly encounter later on. It’s already part of their everyday lives, shaping how they play, communicate and make sense of the world around them.
This influence often becomes visible in play. A group of children carefully building with blocks might pause to “take a photo” of their creation, holding up imaginary devices and discussing what they can see.
Others gather round, offering suggestions before the building begins again. There’s no screen, yet the influence of the digital world is clear, supporting storytelling, reflection and collaboration rather than replacing play itself.
What matters, then, is not whether digital experiences exist in early years settings, but how we use them. When we approach them thoughtfully, digital tools can become shared, playful experiences explored alongside adults. This is rather than something we leave children alone with.
Used in this way, technology has the potential to enhance learning, spark curiosity and support communication.
As early years educators, our role has always been about preparing children for the world they are growing into, not the one we grew up in.
Digital technology is now part of that world. By engaging with it intentionally and reflectively, we can help children develop the skills, confidence and understanding they need. At the same time, we can still hold firmly on to the values at the heart of early years practice.
When we talk about a digital childhood, it’s helpful to move beyond thinking solely about devices and screen time.
Instead, it can be understood through children’s everyday lived experiences: the ordinary moments where technology supports connection, communication and meaning-making.
For many young children, digital experiences are already embedded in family life. This might look like video calling a grandparent, taking photos of a day out, listening to a favourite story, or noticing digital signage in the community.
These experiences are familiar, purposeful and often shared with others. Crucially, these moments position children as active participants rather than passive consumers.
Children use digital tools to tell stories, revisit experiences and make sense of the world around them. Research into digital literacies has highlighted that young children’s meaning-making is multimodal. It combines talk, movement, images, sound and gesture, with digital experiences often supporting this rich communication rather than replacing it.
Understanding digital childhood in this way allows practitioners to recognise what children already bring into settings and to build on these experiences within play-based, relationship-led practice.
Reflective prompt: What digital experiences are children already referencing in their play, and how might these connect with their communication and storytelling?
No matter how quickly technology evolves, digital play will never replace blocks, role play, mark making or outdoor exploration, nor should it try to.
These experiences remain central to early years practice. The opportunity lies in finding meaningful ways to integrate digital technology so that it enhances children’s play rather than pulling them away from it.
When introduced with intention, digital tools can help children explore, revisit and extend their ideas. A tablet might be used to photograph a block structure, prompting discussion about how it was built.
Digital storytelling apps can sit alongside small-world play, supporting children to retell familiar stories or invent new ones using physical resources.
Recording children’s voices as they narrate their play allows them to listen back, reflect and build shared narratives over time.
I saw this come to life in my own practice when a small group of children became absorbed in re-enacting a digital story we had explored earlier in the week.
Using loose parts, fabric and small-world figures, the children recreated scenes, negotiated roles and adapted the storyline as they played.
The digital experience acted as a starting point, but it was child-led play, collaboration and sustained conversation that carried the learning forward.
These moments highlight the continuity between physical and digital worlds, where technology supports playful exploration rather than interrupting it.
At the heart of high-quality early years education are strong, responsive relationships built through meaningful interactions.
When it comes to digital experiences, it is rarely about the technology itself, but rather how adults use it to support learning, play and communication.
Instead of asking how we keep children away from digital tools, we can shift towards co-viewing, co-playing and co-creating.
This means joining children in their digital explorations, modelling language, asking questions and scaffolding ideas.
Sitting alongside a child while editing photos creates opportunities to narrate choices, think aloud and invite children’s perspectives.
Digital storytelling becomes a shared space where adults and children revisit stories and extend narratives together.
When educators adopt this co-creative role, digital experiences move away from passive consumption and become opportunities for connection, creativity and sustained shared thinking.
Developing confidence with digital technology requires thoughtful support and training. Although the technology strand has been removed from the EYFS, digital experiences remain a significant part of children’s lives.
Research suggests that passive or unsafe digital consumption can negatively impact children’s wellbeing, highlighting the importance of purposeful adult modelling and guidance.
Practitioners face real challenges, including differences in access to technology, gaps in confidence, and balancing curiosity with safeguarding.
However, effective digital pedagogy does not depend on expensive equipment. It depends on how technology is used, not how much it is used.
It is entirely appropriate for practitioners to learn alongside children, experimenting with small, intentional changes rather than feeling pressure to transform practice overnight.
Digital childhood is already here, and early years spaces must embrace the childhoods children are living today.
While this new era can feel daunting, with the right training, resources and space to be curious, it is far from something to fear.
When used intentionally, digital experiences can deepen play, communication and connection, enhancing rather than replacing hands-on learning.
Our role is to support children to develop a safe, meaningful relationship with technology, laying foundations for confident, curious learners.
By approaching digital experiences through a values-led lens rooted in play, relationships, communication and curiosity, we can ensure technology supports early years pedagogy rather than competing with it.
Ann-Marie Piper is an Early Years educator & EYFS apprenticeship tutor.
