Children and Technology

hoodwinked

just coming from the how much to spend on your child at christmas i have noticed the discussion is off on a tangent about Children having ipods and ipads, so i said i would ask my question here in a new thread if thats ok with the mods,

what is so bad with children using technology?

in my situation my 4 year old has her own ipod, i have it locked down completely, when she is online on my laptop or her dads, we supervise her 100% of the time, in fact we encourage her to learn and use technology rather than sit in front of a cartoon on tv, (she still watches cartoons mind you)

thanks to games like scribblenauts at 4 she is spelling words like "pink, unicorn, ladder, sweets, dress, her own name...etc" and because she recognises the letters now writes them in pencil when she is colouring in pre-school, she is the only one in her class who can spell and write her name,

is this really so bad? i hear parents give out about 8 year olds wanting ipads? when our child is 5 we want to start her in the coderdojo's she will probably need her own laptop for these eventually, obviously we will lock settings down and supervise her online activity,

but i find it funny, that parents who let their children roaming the streets all day unsupervised where any stranger can approach them and talk to them freak out when their child is on a device with no internet connectivity?


am i just too blasé about technology? is it right to encourage children to use ipads alongside traditional toys?

Moonbeam

My 2 year old and 4 year old are allowed play with our ipad and xoom and are well able to use them. I have kidsmode installed and that is mostly what they play with but they are also allowed watch Netflix.
We both have a lot of networking and filtering experience but are undecided about lockdown when they are older but currently I would prefer a pc in a common area for them to use.

byhookorbycrook

Technology is our friend, but for younger children, I would limit screen time and ensure that they also get plenty of outdoor play and social time. I-pads etc. can be very solitary.

pwurple

I think the interactive games are much better than sitting in front of a tv anyway.

My app recommendations for small children would be
phonics games... Endless ABC.
The lego games series
Dr panda series (especially the one with the toolbox and repairing the house)

There are loads of music ones as well which are great fun.

I would only have a problem with unsupervised internet access for children. Offline is fine by me.

Orion

There is nothing wrong with children using technology. My kids are very comfortable on the ipad, android tablet and pc. Balance is key as byhookorbycrook mentioned. Unlimited access is bad - kids need to go out and run around with friends as well.

Hannibal Smith

I was always dead set against computer games etc for the kids. But the eldest has moved on from being entertained in queues and doctors waiting rooms with colouring books etc. So one day trying tokeep the peace I gave him the phone to draw on. He happened to stumble on angry birds and he is amazing at it!!! He has got me through so many tricky levels I can never thank him enough. To watch him do it is unbelievable. He keeps at it and at it and changing angles and learns from the previous bird what went wrong and why he missed and gets it the next time.

The ophthalmologist said to put his eye patch on when hes playing the game, it'll help strengthen the weaker eye no end.

Im convinced that certain children's brains work in different ways and finding something they really excel at can really benefit them. Having said that..he doesn't come home from school and play till bed time. He'll have my phone for about 20 mins a day max.

Lucyfur

My son is 11 and has an ipod, tablet, iphone and PC. He has saved for and bought all apart from the tablet himself. It's his thing and instead of pulling him away, I encourage it. He has completed basic html5, is learning advanced web dev and several languages. He does coderdojo every week and his mentor gives him extra stuff to work on. Oh and he uses a laptop for all his school work.

Now, he still rides his bike, plays with friends and spends more than enough time outside in the fresh air. Fully agree that balance is key

CrazyRabbit

Lucyfur wrote: »

My son is 11 and has an ipod, tablet, iphone and PC. He has saved for and bought all apart from the tablet himself. It's his thing and instead of pulling him away, I encourage it. He has completed basic html5, is learning advanced web dev and several languages. He does coderdojo every week and his mentor gives him extra stuff to work on. Oh and he uses a laptop for all his school work.

Now, he still rides his bike, plays with friends and spends more than enough time outside in the fresh air. Fully agree that balance is key

He sound more qualified than half the people where I work (I.T. department & Software Development Team). Does he want a job?

Sleepy

I thought Coderdojo only took kids over the age of 12?

I think there's nothing wrong with kids using technology once the parents know enough to keep them safe on it (e.g. parental modes, locking down routers etc.) and are sensible when it comes to time limits (e.g. not allowing a child to sit inside all day in front of a laptop / on a tablet).

The problem I see is the parents who have a poor understanding of tech leave their kids very open to stumbling across (or seeking out) completely unsuitable content, or contact, on-line. It's one of those areas where a little bit of knowledge can actually be a dangerous thing as, unless it's done properly, any inquisitive 12 year old with an interest in IT will quite quickly learn how to circumvent the controls their parents place on their net access.

I'll be downloading scribblenauts OP, sounds fantastic!

Sweet_pea

I've never particularly been into personal technology, I've a shared laptop, a phone and a radio.

I wouldn't be getting anything separate for my boy either until he is well into his teens as I don't feel it's needed. He'll use the family laptop under supervision as needed but it won't be a priority.

My sister and I have both discussed how to help our children in the future process the darker parts of the internet but have yet to decide what we will do. Hopefully it won't be till they are older teen/ young adults but even then some of the content is very hard for a young brain to deal with.

Lucyfur

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

He sound more qualified than half the people where I work (I.T. department & Software Development Team). Does he want a job?

He'd love a weekend job. Can you pick him up on a Friday evening and return him Sunday night?

:P

CrazyRabbit

Lucyfur wrote: »

He'd love a weekend job. Can you pick him up on a Friday evening and return him Sunday night?

:P

Here in IBM we actually have workshops for kids/teens every now and again. The kids get to come in, build robots and program them to do various tasks etc. No idea when the next one is on, but I'll let you know if I find out.
Don't think we do full weekends though!!

Lucyfur

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Here in IBM we actually have workshops for kids/teens every now and again. The kids get to come in, build robots and program them to do various tasks etc. No idea when the next one is on, but I'll let you know if I find out.
Don't think we do full weekends though!!

Oh cool! Thank you!

I think there's an engineering dojo starting soon too. Sounds really good

clairefontaine

Nothing at all wrong with children and technology.

Do you mean computers and tablets specifically or a wider range of technologies, like flight planning, special effects in video, animations, graphics, tools used for scientific research, gadgets, etc....

It's the practical manifestation of science, so if the science is there, and not just the bells, whistles, buttons etc, then it's very positive.

There's a big debate in education in the US right now, where they are considering no longer teaching cursive writing in elementary, which I think is a big mistake if they go ahead with that.

Lucyfur

Sleepy wrote: »

I thought Coderdojo only took kids over the age of 12?

No, it's from 5 or 6 upwards. In the group my son goes to, under 12's must have an adult present in the building.

clairefontaine

Sleepy wrote: »

I thought Coderdojo only took kids over the age of 12?

I think there's nothing wrong with kids using technology once the parents know enough to keep them safe on it (e.g. parental modes, locking down routers etc.) and are sensible when it comes to time limits (e.g. not allowing a child to sit inside all day in front of a laptop / on a tablet).

The problem I see is the parents who have a poor understanding of tech leave their kids very open to stumbling across (or seeking out) completely unsuitable content, or contact, on-line. It's one of those areas where a little bit of knowledge can actually be a dangerous thing as, unless it's done properly, any inquisitive 12 year old with an interest in IT will quite quickly learn how to circumvent the controls their parents place on their net access.

I'll be downloading scribblenauts OP, sounds fantastic!

Definitely.

And this conversation will become intensified when and if the Irish curriculum brings technology into the classroom, and the kids are learning how to access the internet.

Not only that, but nearly all phones now are smart phones, and kids younger and younger have them and even bring them into school, many of which have open wireless.

Also, some of these free apps geared to kids, which you may notice, have inappropriate ads, linked to gambling sites and they flash up. Some include images of women that you'd see on the wheel protectors of a long haul truck. It's not necessarily that the kids seek it out, but that these sites, or other users seek the children out. Even harmless games that you might find on cbeebies or other websites will ask the kids to turn on their webcams.

Moonbeam

I seriously doubt many schools have open wireless.

clairefontaine

Moonbeam wrote: »

I seriously doubt many schools have open wireless.

The one my little one attended in Ireland did. My phone picked it up every time we I did pick up and drop off.

hoodwinked

clairefontaine wrote: »

Nothing at all wrong with children and technology.

Do you mean computers and tablets specifically or a wider range of technologies, like flight planning, special effects in video, animations, graphics, tools used for scientific research, gadgets, etc....

It's the practical manifestation of science, so if the science is there, and not just the bells, whistles, buttons etc, then it's very positive.

There's a big debate in education in the US right now, where they are considering no longer teaching cursive writing in elementary, which I think is a big mistake if they go ahead with that.

i suppose tablets and ipods/music players and phones...etc are where it is at for most parents these days,

i just don't see the harm in having children who formally would have formally been declared to have had the hobby of being 'a couch potato' as they weren't into outdoor pursuits and sports finally find something their style and that they are great at,

obviously not every child, but for most who show an interest this is a chance to start a career early like tennis/athletes...etc have had for decades now.

Moonbeam

clairefontaine wrote: »

The one my little one attended in Ireland did. My phone picked it up every time we I did pick up and drop off.

Nice,was it the broadband for schools connection or a private connection that the school pays for itself?
Could you access material via it?

clairefontaine

Moonbeam wrote: »

Nice,was it the broadband for schools connection or a private connection that the school pays for itself?
Could you access material via it?

I really don't know. It was a wifi connection with the schools name on it. As soon as I pulled in my phone would bleep with incoming mail into the inbox. I didn't bother trying to access the web or anything, because at the time these issues were not in my conciousness. At the time I was more concerned they didn't lock the front door or have a toilet seat for the senior and junior infants bathroom. The wifi issue as a concern didn't enter my head. It's only in retrospect that I wonder now.

The kids were not learning technology at the time so I was not that aware, but now my little one is learning how to access the web etc at school, and they are getting ipads in school [not the same one I reference above] so this is just now dawning on me on how to navigate the roads of children and ipads/computers.

Moonbeam

Test it and see if you can get to webpages and if you can then make a complaint to the school.

Normal schools would only have one connection via the broadband for schools connection which is heavily filtered so the kids can not really get to anything unsuitable no matter how hard they try.
For older kids with indepth technical knowledge it could be possible for them to bypass it but unlikely in most cases.

Shabaz50

hoodwinked wrote: »

just coming from the how much to spend on your child at christmas i have noticed the discussion is off on a tangent about Children having ipods and ipads, so i said i would ask my question here in a new thread if thats ok with the mods,

what is so bad with children using technology?

in my situation my 4 year old has her own ipod, i have it locked down completely, when she is online on my laptop or her dads, we supervise her 100% of the time, in fact we encourage her to learn and use technology rather than sit in front of a cartoon on tv, (she still watches cartoons mind you)

thanks to games like scribblenauts at 4 she is spelling words like "pink, unicorn, ladder, sweets, dress, her own name...etc" and because she recognises the letters now writes them in pencil when she is colouring in pre-school, she is the only one in her class who can spell and write her name,

is this really so bad? i hear parents give out about 8 year olds wanting ipads? when our child is 5 we want to start her in the coderdojo's she will probably need her own laptop for these eventually, obviously we will lock settings down and supervise her online activity,

but i find it funny, that parents who let their children roaming the streets all day unsupervised where any stranger can approach them and talk to them freak out when their child is on a device with no internet connectivity?


am i just too blasé about technology? is it right to encourage children to use ipads alongside traditional toys?

At that age i was out for 9 hours a day playing with my cousins

pwurple

clairefontaine wrote: »

The one my little one attended in Ireland did. My phone picked it up every time we I did pick up and drop off.

This is what I mean by people not being aware. A school of all places should not have open wifi without even a password. That's my main worry with technology access. Inappropriate content being accessed unsupervised.

Shabaz50 wrote: »

At that age i was out for 9 hours a day playing with my cousins

As are most kids with access to technology. It's not one or the other, they can do both.

clairefontaine

pwurple wrote: »

This is what I mean by people not being aware. A school of all places should not have open wifi without even a password. That's my main worry with technology access. Inappropriate content being accessed unsupervised.




As are most kids with access to technology. It's not one or the other, they can do both.

Indeed they can. Such is its normalisation that I recently purchased a pair of fleece gloves. I noticed later they had special fabric on the tip of the index finger and the thumb, obviously for the wearer to use when they need to take a break from building a snowman to check their email or make a phone call. Age on label 5-7.

gemini_girl

One of my concerns with everything moving onto laptop screens & ipads etc is that it could impact childrens eyes & mood. If I spend more than 2 hours on the laptop my eyes get tired & I am more tired in general. One time our internet was gone at home for 3 weeks & I was like a bee around the house. I know half an hour here & there wont impact like that but just thinking of kids using laptops or ebooks in school all day etc, is that good for their health? I can only speak for myself. My kids are a bit small yet (3 yrs & almost 6 yrs) so they don't go on any devices. They might look at photos on my phone but that's it. They don't watch tv either because they are literally like bags of cats afterwards crying & whinging so they get 1 hour sat morning. Theyre too busy out the back destroying their clothes in mud & kicking footballs in next door. I would like them to be able to use technology as this is the way forward but I don't think they actually need it now or that it will benefit them more now. My son was writing his name at age 3 but he just learnt how to do it in preschool & from copying us in games etc. We play games like eye spy when we are stuck in a queue or somewhere boring (like penneys :-D )

Dravokivich

I was kind of thinking of limiting tech in the bedroom to be honest. Although, overall I don't have too much of a problem with it. Particularly in a social setting. I just think a kid is going to need somewhere to tune out from it.

The box room will be setup with PC and games consoles, so they won't have to worry about me lurching over their shoulder or constantly watching'em.

pwurple

WhiteTiger wrote: »

One of my concerns with everything moving onto laptop screens & ipads etc is that it could impact childrens eyes & mood. If I spend more than 2 hours on the laptop my eyes get tired & I am more tired in general.

I believe eye-strain is from reading in general, so you will get the same effect from books, as from screens.

Your screen brightness should be at around the same level as your surroundings, not darker or lighter, so your eyes don't need to adjust as much.

bringupthebook

I think it's all about balance. I can see from my toddler that kids have a natural instinct with technology - they immediately try to scroll things and tap things once they know something happens. I work with technology so know its benefits but i can also see from those who spend too much time with it (inside and outside work) that it can become all consuming and with little stimulation from other areas can become less advantagous. With that in mind I'll have no problem with him using technology as long as books and toys and people are very much in the mix.

Parents who give out their kids using ipads etc are probably either concerned about the amount of time they spend on them or the cost to buy or repair them.

CrazyRabbit

I don't know why people single out computers for special consideration. No different than anything else that a child may use. So long as it is used in moderation, it's fine. Too much of anything is going to be harmful...be it computer time, TV time, sports, hobbies, studying etc.

Of course, you have to monitor what is being done on the computer.

hoodwinked

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

I don't know why people single out computers for special consideration. No different than anything else that a child may use.

i think it depends, someone i know who works with social media recently spoke to 5 12/13 year olds about their use of computers/technology, she said she was 'frightened' by what they told her,

things like admitting they find old men on chat-roulette or having no privacy settings set on social media, apparently they also told her they don't use desktops, more tablets and smart phones...etc


and their parents didn't know about this, in fact a lot of parents don't know about the dangers of online use, but let their 7 year olds (kid across the road from me is my example here) join facebook.

in that instance she has no clue what her son is actually doing.

this is why i advocate technology is great, but only when someone who knows what they are doing is in charge, otherwise parents should directly supervise online access 24/7 if possible, and if not able to do this plug out the router.