Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a person who does not use a tablet, a mobile phone or a computer. At the same time, children see their parent using those gadgets and they start to be interested in them as well. There are 2 sides in the world of parents who are divided by the issue: to let or not to let child use gadgets in early childhood? One side does not mind that their baby gets acquainted with an electronic device, on the other hand the second side is absolutely against it. Nevertheless, it is always bad practice to rush to extremes and it is very important to find middle way that could be suitable for both parties and gadgets could bring real benefit. Let us take a detailed look at both sides.
What kind of advantages do we have using modern devices?
The most spread variant of electronic device usage by children which is utilized by parents – “make baby busy for some time”. A lot of adults this trick when there is a long awaiting ahead (like being in a queue) and nothing to do for a baby. At the same time the kid cannot play any of outdoor plays due to space limit or code of conduct. Therefore, smartphone or tablet with games and cartoons can make the child busy and let the awaiting pass smoothly.
The next undoubted advantage of electronic devices is educational part of gaming process. Currently, a number of applications directed specifically at the development of attention, logical thinking and memory of the children. These applications can help you to teach the child how to draw, read and count. We can also add a great number of educational videos which will definitely tell a lot of interesting things to the young watchers. However, we need to highlight that selection process of applications and videos for children is at parents’ responsibility as it is quite important to choose high quality content.
Unfortunately, not all the things are bright about usage of gadgets by children. First of all, it is crucial to involve all perception channels of the child. In other words, baby should touch a ball to feel it with hands and understand that it is “round” and a cube is “square”. The picture on the screen is not enough even if it is in high resolution and brought to the child in interesting way. Furthermore, parents should always remember that excessive and uncontrolled usage of gadgets has negative impact on child’s health and physical development. For example, some experts say that these devices impact on child’s eyesight. Also, if the kid spends a lot of time with digital toys it means he or she has sedentary lifestyle that can lead to corresponding diseases. If the child sits in incorrect position some problems with spine and posture may occur in the future.
To conclude the above-stated, we would like to note that there should always be a middle way. You cannot just prohibit the usage of electronic devices for your children because sooner or later he will face with it and will need to have experience in handling with these gadgets. For example, some of the schools actively implement the method to replace notes with tablets and pens with styluses. Therefore, it can be good idea to use “digital toys” as educational tool for kids of preschool age. However, you must keep an eye on the process – limit “play time”, choose the most appropriate content for your child.
