digital devices

O = Online and Screen Time for Kids

2015/10/19 admin Leave a comment

There’s great concern when it comes to online and screen time for kids. But, we need to be realistic; young kids are playing with electronic devices.

I am not an expert when it comes to digital learning and exposure. Just like everyone else, I’ve heard and read the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics to minimize or eliminate exposure to media for kids under the age of 2. As for kids, 2 to 5 years old, their guidelines are quite general, advising parents to take an active role and co-view.

This still leaves lots of questions. Here are 3 that I asked and the answers from Jeremy Inscho, a colleague who is a teacher, parent, and media educator.

As a parent, what are your concerns when it comes to kids and screen time?

As a parent, I’m initially concerned that young children aren’t spending time with their peers, interacting and learning social graces if they spend too much time in front of screens. However, I think there is a key developmental period for this and preschool children tend to be too egocentric to significant growth in this area much before Kindergarten anyway. My next concern is that children with too much screen time will be lacking experience in play, exploration and natural creativity. Yet, I also recognize that screen time isn’t always consuming. Young children can explore, create, produce and play in an interactive way online if guided appropriately. So, all screen time isn’t equal. In this digital age, I think there is greater opportunity for positive screen time, than the solely passive TV time of the previous (my) generation.

2. As an educator, what are some guidelines that parents could use?

As an educator, I think this one was solved a long time ago: moderation is key. There’s nothing wrong with passive consumption as long as it’s balanced with interaction and time unplugged for other creative endeavours. And passive consumption can even be the door to great conversation and personal connection with kids. It’s all in the approach by the parents. Honestly, I’m not particularly concerned so long as it works for families and parents have put some critical thought into it. The balance for each family might look very different, and very different between kids in a family.

3. What are some recommendations you have for resources?

I get asked about resources a lot. “What are the best apps for kids?” Well, my response is always, “It depends.” It depends a lot on the purpose. The best apps for what? Do you want your kids engaging in game based mathematical thinking, phonological awareness, visual storytelling, fine motor skills, etc., or just some safe entertainment so household chores can get done without a constant, “Mommy, I’m bored.”

A mom, Jodie R. shared her concerns:

With my husband working out of town, I get concerned with screen time, now that I have an iPad and my kids know how to turn on the tv. Sometimes in order to get things done, ie cook dinner, do laundry, clean…it’s easier when the tv is on. We do have 1 rule, absolutely no TV mon-fri morning before school.

A young boy I get to see often is 2½. He loves the program Duplo trains and enjoys building with Duplo. Lately, he has been putting people in the cars and stopping to fill up just like the game. Of course, he does other things as well, but he is recreating what he has done on screen and incorporating it into his own play. Programs can influence what kids do by limiting play but also by encouraging it.

This has been a great topic for the letter O, and obviously one to talk about again. What are your thoughts for online and screen time for kids?

Current Events

Yes or No to Young Kids and Digital Devices

2015/08/31 admin Leave a comment

Older kids are currently shopping for back to school electronics. But how about the preschoolers: will we say yes or no to young kids and digital devices? For some thoughts on this, here is an article from journalist and parent Amy Williams:

Easy Ways To Use Technology As a Resource With Your Child

As parents, we have all heard the precautionary tales about the dangers technology poses to our children. Almost daily we are greeted with disheartening stories of cyberbullying or how the love of all things digital is stunting our children’s development. While the startling statistics are hard to ignore, parents need to realize that technology can be a wonderful resource for our kidlets.

The Benefits Technology Provides Children

Maximizing technology and making it work for our children can be daunting, but our kids literally have the world at their fingertips. While kids no longer have to sift through dusty encyclopedias or card catalogs to find the answer to a question, there are many positive ways today’s technology can benefit our children in their quest to gain knowledge.

Experts often stress the importance of powering down our devices, but technology, when used correctly, can allow children to interact with unlimited educational resources and learning opportunities. Technology can hone in our sons’ and daughters’ curiosity, problem solving skills, and development of thought processes ultimately equipping them to be lifelong learners.

11 Great Ideas For Using Technology With Young Kids

The problem with many of our modern technologies is that they are passive in nature. This passivity of our devices and games has the potential to stunt a child’s emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development that are forming during childhood. Technology can be an interference when it is not balanced or appropriate.

To prevent this from happening, our children need the right formula of experiences and parental guidance to help develop their digital literacy. As children interact with technology they gain a clear understanding of the digital footprint they are leaving behind.

Listed below is a compilation of eleven ideas to intentionally use technology to benefit young children:

Parents need to ensure there is a balance in the home when it comes to technology. Experts recommend limiting a child’s daily usage to no more than two hours a day. It is also strongly recommended that children under the age of two avoid screens altogether.

Use the Internet and apps available to discover signing with a child to strengthen communication. Teaching sign language to babies and toddlers will help develop emerging communication skills and ease the tension while parents try to guess what a child needs or wants. Start with a few select signs like eat, more, drink, thank you, please, sleep, etc. and add new signs as needed.

Turn to worldwide web for amazing resources to help fine tune a child’s interests or hobbies. Learn how to create almost anything on sites like Instructables or connect with people who have similar passions over social media.

Get moving with streaming services for yoga videos or take advantage of that Fitbit. Let technology motivate a love for physical fitness and healthy habits early!

Strengthen bonds with extended family and friends by using face-to-face communication apps like Skype or Facetime.

Have an Instagram scavenger hunt. Working with your child, snap photos of items that fit certain categories or topics. For example, look for objects that start with the letter L or are the color purple to help them develop a digital concept map that fine tunes their computer skills and allows them to stamp a bit of personality on their passion. Expand this idea to encompass any subject that interests your child!

Take family photos or a child’s drawings and turn them into a coloring book. Children love pictures of themselves and coloring is a wonderful method to de-stress or improve fine motor skills.

Turn to the Internet for songs or mnemonic devices to help with homework or learning new topics. Help a child commit this information to memory with fun songs on any topic ranging from the water cycle to naming the fifty states.

Delve into favorite topics and explore new facts with gusto! Let’s face it, children often become passionate about a certain topic like horses, trains, or castles. Take advantage of this excitement and look for informative sites, interactive apps, games, craft ideas, and coloring pages to supplement their thirst for knowledge.

Research books or products before you purchase them. Read reviews for honest evaluations before you splurge on the newest manipulatives, games, learning gizmos, or best seller books. Feedback from others might save you a lot of time and money or they may help you feel confident with your selection.

Rainy days are no longer a problem when you have a world of blogs, Pinterest, and crafting resources at your fingertips. With a swipe of a finger you can be whipping up a fun craft in minutes.

Ultimately, our kids need to have a good understanding of digital literacy and social media etiquette to be successful in the 21st century. When technology is combined with face-to-face interaction, caregivers and parents can help make this time meaningful and empowering for a child. With a little awareness and effort, families can take advantage of the convenience of technology to benefit everyone without sacrificing our integrity and values.
What is one thing you will do today to use technology as a resource for your kids?

Amy Kristine Williams is a free-lance journalist based in Southern California and mother of two. As a parent, she enjoys spreading the word on positive parenting techniques in the digital age and raising awareness on issues like cyberbullying and online safety. Thank you Amy, for sharing your perspective on 123kindergarten.

Art Music Drama

Art Fun: Digital Art for Kids

2015/05/02 admin Leave a comment

To Screen or Not to Screen? That is the Question… for Discussion

Next week is Screen-Free week, so it’s timely to talk about digital art for kids. There are some definite advantages and some substantial disadvantages. I am not an expert in digital technology. Rather, this is my viewpoint as a kindergarten teacher and parent. This discussion will, hopefully, give you some points to consider.

The AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends no screen exposure for kids under 2 years of age, and only 1-2 hours per day for those older. Is art part of those couple of hours? There are hundreds of apps and programs for kids to use for digital art, varying from easy enough for young toddlers to more complicated ones for older kids.

Some of the benefits include being able to engage with colors, lines, shapes, and patterns in a visually impactful way. There is no doubt it is exciting to see results right away on a screen. When the images move and change on a screen, it’s even more capturing. Digital art can also stimulate imagination and improve small muscle coordination.

What about the drawbacks? Children learn through their senses and digital art lacks the sensory stimulation of crayons, brushes, paint, markers, chalk, scissors, glue, play dough and other materials.

Kids do not get to use their skin to feel textures like rough, smooth, bumpy, slippery, or pokey. Hands do not get the same range of energy and motion with a device. There’s no squeezing, pinching, tugging, gently smoothing, or just barely touching. That’s only the senses of seeing and touching. Human voices are far richer in terms of expression than recorded ones and there’s no smell or taste with a screen.

Some children will like the immediacy and animation when using electronic devices. The young girl who colored this picture of oil pastels using oil pastels says she does digital art but prefers the pastels. For contrast, even the drawing of the crayons is closer to the real item than a more accurate digital image.

As with anything, we need to consider what is reasonable. Yes, we can include digital art for kids but only as one part of all the different kinds of art play. What’s your point of view?