My daughter Hanna, who is not even two years old, has been already introduce to the world of technology. She likes to sit in front of the computer, she moves the mouse around and has learn the cause-effect property that the mouse has. She has already discover that she can look at pictures, see images of her favorite TV characters, and listen to music.
Speaking about her TV shows, Diego is her favorite. He is an animal rescuer who has a GPS to locate the animals that need his help! He also has a video camera watch! A what?! I didn't even know there is such a thing!
Hanna is being exposed to all this techonology that is part of our world. My husband and I think that when she is a teenager there will be GPS to insert under her skin to track her (boyfriends look out!).
I got together with my friend and her family two weeks ago. Her oldest son Jimmy, who is 7 years old, had this "tool" in his hand for about three hours straight. I called it a tool, later on my husband told it was a "Game Boy Advance." The kid played his video games while the rest of the family had lunch, desert and played around with a ball.
I understand his video game kept him entertained and I'm sure it's good for his mental concentration and hand eye coordination, but I do question to what extent technology can be negative.
Remember one of the most popular toys sold out last Christmas was the Nintendo Wii. I couldn't really understand it's function until I got to try it. When we visited our friends for a barbecue my husband actually spend the afternoon playing golf, tennis, boxing, and racing. There is no way he would have had the physical strength to play all those sports the same day (he of course does not agree!).
Did he have fun? YES, but again raises the question, " Are the video games taking the place of real life enternainment?"
My believe as a parent of a future digital native is to welcome all the tools and the advantages that techonology can bring, but always be aware of the content of those video games and maintain control over rules and the times they can be played. You can never underestimate the power of family dinners, real sports, socializing face to face, and the important personal connections that are made in no other way.
Check out these sites:
Parental control and video games: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/613259/parental_control_and_video_games_knowing.html
Tools that will help you to keep track of time: http://www.familysafemedia.com/tv_time_management_tools_-_par.html
I am a big fan of the "Super Nanny." If you don't know what I am talking about, the Super Nanny is a show where families in the United States are having trouble with their kids behavior and ask for help from the Super Nanny becuase they don't know what else to do. One of the common issues that the nanny sees is that members of the family, parents and siblings, do not have any communication or very little communication becuase technology has taken it away. To many TVs are scattered around the house, no schedules have been set for the kids to watch TV or play their computers and video games, and, therefore, communication has been lacking among the members of the family so when they do have to actually communicate they don't know how. Super Nanny provides reasonable, firm, direct advice and strategies and, in the end, facilitates communication within the family.
Check out this site to learn from the Super Nanny:
http://abc.go.com/primetime/supernanny/index?pn=about
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1 comment:
Kirsten,
You presented a nice, balanced look on technology, it's assets as well as its negatives. It is difficult for me too, sometimes, to feel so positive about everything...especially now when children grow up spending more time with a video game than outside. The part abou your daughter and the computer mouse is so funny though--I guess they never are too young to learn! There are certainally some positive and negative aspects to all this techology--we are going to have to as educators, try to strike a balance, I suppose.
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