When Should Kids Be Introduced to Computers?
Even if your toddler doesn’t know a computer mouse from a pencil sharpener yet, chances are they will be pressing the icons of your iPad soon figuring out how it reacts to every particular spot on the screen. Therefore you should do well to get acquainted with the pros and cons of technology and young kids beforehand.
Actually, experts on child development are not of the same mind about the benefits of introducing your children to computer skills too early. Some of them argue that a computer-minded kid will do better at school, whereas there are those who warn about the dangers of exposing kids to technology at a very early age. So meanwhile it looks like every family will have to decide for themselves about the kid-computer relations based on the particular situation inside the family. Yet there are advantages and disadvantages that are fairly obvious and should be taken into consideration.
The advantages
Technological benefits for young kids include:
enhancing fine-motor abilities. While moving the mouse to bring the cursor to the right place and learning to press a key without even looking makes a valuable hands-on practice in fine motor. It may be less creative than doodling or finger painting but it is more purposeful. Besides, eye-hand coordination gets better too, enabling your kid to learn how to handle scissors or puzzle pieces much faster;
understanding cause-and-effect relations. Many preschoolers and younger kids show definite preference to toys and things that can be set to function by pressing buttons, switches, levers. They can pass from pop-up books on to pop-up screens smoothly, enjoying the process when they make a precise click and get a reaction from a character in a game or a computer icon. They can also learn colors and later letters more easily this way.
Technological disadvantages
Computers devour people time. They are fun and developmental, but the interaction excludes other people. Meanwhile young kids need to socialize with others to learn the enjoyment of playing together, to grasp the skills of social communication and to understand empathy. Teaching through software has its uses, but it is no replacement of face-to-face teaching.
Hands-on possibilities are limited. Toddlers have an instinctive desire to touch all they see and do things like trying to open objects – this is their way of learning about their surroundings. There are activities you won’t be able to do with the computer – put blocks on one another trying to build a tower, shovel sand, mixing stuff with water to get some unknown substance. All these activities are necessary and – at a certain age – more important for the kid than making the computer react to their touch.
Excessive stimulation. The computer is often too colorful, too noisy, in one word – overwhelming. It offers constant action that can be tiresome quickly. So once you have noticed that your kid gets tired, frustrated or spaced out after computer time, try and inveigle them into doing time-honored kid stuff like reading, sculpting, going for a walk, working up sports prowess. See to it that they spend less time before the screen. Because if a young kid has grown dependent on computer pastimes they can react by losing interest in quiet activities where they are called upon to be more creative (drawing, for instance) or by being unfocused when they are dealing with non-tech situations (a teacher writing on the blackboard).
Sitting down for too long. While the computer holds out its advantages, young kids spend the time sitting when they should be moving. It’s important for them to learn how their body functions and work up strong muscles – this is the mainspring of their proper growth at this age. If prolonged sitting becomes a habit, you might be faced with health and attention issues later. So, make sure your toddler doesn’t spend much time before the screen but goes out to shovel sand around, to make use of slides and ladders, to play games involving movement. After all is said, you need your share of physical activity as well!
