|
|
||||
|
||||
| Are children getting too app-sessed? | ||||
| Child education experts warn of app overload | ||||
 In recent years the TV has taken a tumble in the stakes as most hated (and yet secretly loved) child care tool… Yes, there is a new kid in town, the "App" (or software application), and it comes in many forms, is absolutely everywhere in your home and is accessible pretty much everywhere outside of the home too.Children are hooked on Apps from as young as two years old. Smart technology means that although many parents struggle with their phones, tablets, iPod Touches etc, two-year-olds do not. They are all over gadgets and their Apps instantly and constantly clamouring for App time. While there are many great Apps that are perfectly suitable and actually educational for children, Professor Carla Rinaldi - president of the global Reggio Children movement, based in Italy - said children were relying too much on technological "apps" instead of their own ingenuity and imagination for normal development tasks and also for things like homework and school projects. And you're not alone if you think that gadgets and apps are making your child slightly manic. The tendency is for short-term entertainment, quick fire games, moving from one app to the next at a frightening pace. Children are losing valuable down time in favour of competitive, obsessive tasks and games. On a recent visit to Australia with the Goodstart Early Learning organisation, Rinaldi said that: "There is this obsession to pass from one activity to another," and believes that it's ruining our children, many of whom are suffering from performance anxiety at a very early age. In fact Kids First Children's Services director Sonja Walker, whose Sydney pediatric health clinic has treated 7000 children in the past seven years, said too much "screen time" was shortening kids' attention spans. Professor Rinaldi - who served as Adelaide Thinker in Residence this year - said children should not rely too much on technology, but treat it as "a tool, like a pencil". "There is too much screen time," she said. "From an ethical perspective and in terms of shaping the mind it can be very dangerous. You consider anything is possible, because you have an app. Then you lose your own effort, the pleasure of discovery, the pleasure of fatigue, the pleasure of mistakes. We have to guarantee that children can use all their senses, to read, to play, to create." Early Childhood Australia general manager Judy Kynaston said in an interview with News.com.au that young children should spend no more than an hour a day in front of a screen. She said digital technology could benefit children if they required movement, or interaction with other children or adults. But overuse could result in "unhealthy weight and a lack of social skills". "Teachers are telling us that children are finding it difficult to persist at tasks because of the immediate nature of technology," she said. "Children don't have that experience of persisting in a task, to research, to plan, to imagine and to dream of ideas. "But using pen and paper sometimes does help children to think logically about what they are doing." Too Much App Time Can Arrest Core Development Many children are so used to using gadgets to write with or over using the tiny little stylos for DS, that they actually have to redevelop their muscles to hold a normal pencil for any length of time. And it's not only fine motor skills that are being affected. Kids First Children's Services Director Sonja Walker said some children were starting school with language and speech problems, because they spent so much time playing games by themselves. "We give them (screens for) something to do while we're busy, and we're not talking to them as much," she said. "They're not engaging in social situations where they have to learn to liaise and negotiate with other children." But as with anything, it's all about balance at the end of the day. As with TV, there are lots of positives about gadgets and applications. It's just that APP time needs to be limited to 30 minutes a day or something manageable and not used as a babysitting device when parents are busy or too tired to communicate or interact with their children. Even Ms Walker said her own clinic used smartphone "apps" to teach children phonics, maths and behavioural skills. Some Educational Apps that are useful for kids: rED Writing - Teaches children ages 3 - 7 how to write the letters and numbers of the alphabet, the same way they are taught at school. Maths Bingo - Kids answer maths questions and are rewarded with a game when they answer correctly. Number Monster - teachers numbers 1-20 in 10 languages. Bright and Beyond - activities for parents to play with babies and toddlers. Pocket Phonics - helps children learn to read. Math Farm - solve a maths problem and farm animals emerge. Recommended by Kids First Children's Services |
|
|||||||||
