Raising children in this digital age can be rather tricky and can also take its toll on us parents. Children are easily drawn to them, and as parents, who almost always want to keep our children happy, we tend to give in more often than we intend to. Read on for a few tips and tricks on how we can get these devices and technology to work to our advantage and to benefit our children more.
Digital devices have become major tools that we utilize in everyday life. You and your family likely have many devices within your home that are reflective of our current tech boom. As you raise your digital natives, you must be prepared to introduce and orient them with various forms of technology. It’s important that you guide and monitor your child’s interaction with devices like the television, computers, tablets and smartphones. Each device is classified with varying degrees of age-appropriateness, educational benefits and potential negative effects. Here is a list of digital devices your kids will encounter and an exploration of their pros and cons:
Television
Television is commonly thought of as an entertainment device that merely provides an escape. However, there are many benefits of television, as it can engage the viewer and transmit information quickly. Educational videos are wonderful resources for kids ages 3-17 years old. However, pediatricians say that television shouldn’t be watched before age two. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) found, from a study in 2011, that children under 2 years old can’t cognitively comprehend what’s being projected on the screen and retain that information. Recently though, the AAP has begun to change its tune on knowledge retention from television use. They acknowledge that kids can learn and benefit from television if it requires interaction ~ which many new generations allow for. Interactive responses transmitted through touch or speech response can induce learning and create solid connections in your baby or toddler’s brain.
Computer
A computer is one of our best resources for exploration of information. Your child will be required in many educational settings to use a computer and the internet. Create solid boundaries and rules around computer use so the device doesn’t become harmful or used for the wrong reasons. Make sure your kids are old enough, around the age of five or so, to understand that food and beverages can’t be around the computers. Have special security settings on the internet, so they have limited access to the world wide web. There is unlimited content on the internet, a good portion of which is explicit and inappropriate for kids. To help, PCMag has compiled a list of the best parental control software which monitor and filter internet content. [Read more…]
