Is technology good for little kids?
If you’re a mum or dad, you’ve probably been in a situation where your kid tries to get the Ipad or cell phone from you to play games, or just to master the numbers and letters. These are stages that you can’t escape, hence, you just have to embrace it. There also comes a time when you might wonder if the technology is a good or bad thing for your little kid.
Is it really?
This question has been asked by so many people over the years and has been the most discussed topic when it comes to technology and kids. It seems like kids are pulled into another dimension when they start using any of these technologies – it feels like they have their own world right at that very moment.
It can be challenging and exhausting as a parent to take away your kid’s attention from any device. Due to this, parent’s are torn between letting their child use the device or not. At times, the computer, smartphone, or any other device takes away the child’s attention from more important things. Like doing their homework or learning new lessons. The time that the child should spend on wiser things is wasted on pressing and swiping on the device.
On the other side of the coin, keeping up with the child during long trips or even just dead hours is hard too. Having something that eases away their boredom and tantrums helps a lot. It is like giving them a handful of their favorite chocolate in a high tech form. And whether you are aware or not, your child can learn too with these gadgets, through interactive and downloadable apps.
The negative side
With these technological inventions, children have lesser time to do things that will develop them physically and socially. Like playing in parks with other kids their age. They have a lesser grasp of the “real world” because they are very much drawn in the virtual world. Parents even have the dilemma that their child would choose to stay in the world that technology created for them.
At this point, you may be one of those parents who is on the verge of finding out how to manage your child while they’re using gadgets. Especially when it the digital world looks more compelling to them rather than the offline world. Children, especially the younger ones, are easily attracted to what they see. Those things that appeal to their senses rather than going for something that will help them.
This makes it complicated to figure out what you should do to balance their time between the virtual and real world. Children have less time talking to you or making new friends since their attention is glued to the gadget. At times, they might even choose to stay at home just to play. Missing out on playing with friends or going out with family.
Furthermore, these technologies take away your child’s time that should be spent doing homework or reading books and lessons. Instead, they are so absorbed in playing which most children do, that they forget their responsibilities. Who would think about what they should do when they are already in front of the computer? And even if they do, their attention is divided, and most likely, they will come up with a half-baked output.
The positive side
Technology is created with the purpose of improving man’s life, thus it cannot be denied that it is a great help to children too. It enhances their eye and hand coordination. This is through engaging applications where the child follows or draws a pattern with the help of the instruction given. With this, it also develops their problem-solving skills in as much as it enhances their reading and understanding ability alongside their language ability. These skills promote school readiness that a child must possess before entering into a formal education.
These technologies also widen the child’s capacity to imagine. It enhances their creativity with the games – especially with puzzles – something that is much needed because not all lessons are so tactile or hands-on. In addition, it serves as an interesting way for them to learn and develop the talents that they have. Almost anything that interests a child is readily available in the cloud with the use of different devices.
Lastly, these creations serve as the child’s best friend to feed their curiosity. It makes it possible to access any information they need once they are connected to the internet. It does not only entertain them, but it serves as a tool for them to learn something.
Whether the technology is a good or bad thing for kids is something that will never be answered or, at least, the answer greatly depends on how parents manage their child in using these technologies. It lies on how balanced a child’s virtual and real-world activities are. Certainly, you know what is the best thing for your child and without a doubt, you will always go for it.
