“Yes please, yes please, yes pleeeeease!” is what I hear almost every time my toddler sees or hears my phone. If she does not get it, she isn’t too happy. She may move on to playing with something else, but sometimes comes back pointing at where she last saw my phone, and says “yes please!” again.
I got said phone about a year ago and it’s an iPhone, so let’s call it Apple. At first, my baby (Sophia) was not interested in playing with Apple, albeit being awed by lights emanating from it and the sounds it would make. This year Apple became something more appealing. Sophia’s little fingers understood how hard and how often to push different buttons to make Siri speak, see all the active apps, make the screen negative, move apps (some moves ended up being deletions), and select apps as well.
Watching her learn by literally being hands-on, has been interesting and challenging at the same time: Should I let my one year old play with Apple? Is this going to make her not notice the natural world around her? Will she want to only play with electronic devices? Can I make this activity a part of a balanced learning plan?
As I watch her, and we introduce various activities as well as keep old ones going, little Sophia answers my questions fairly directly. Sophia would like to play with Apple more often than we let her, but she does spend her time doing many other things. She asks to get her shoes and hat, and blow bubbles outside. She LOVES her night-time book and wants to flip through it whenever she sees it. Sophia sits in her ‘reading’ box with a few books, or plays songs she likes on a little piano grandpops got her (or the big piano if she wants to play with one of us). There is some TV watching, coloring (on various surfaces…..), definitely a lot of eating, and running around the house.
When she sees Apple at a time I believe she could play on it, I give it to her and she goes into Sophia’s Apple world for a while. She has a selection of videos that she finds amidst a sea of 40 or so, and plays them over and over. She acts them out and speaks/signs baby language along any songs her cousins sing; cousins she hasn’t yet met. She sees her big sister on video and calls out “Sissie!!!” with a smile on her face.
After moving and opening a bunch of non-baby apps like WordPress, Twitter, Girl Up and others, Sophia leaves a few photos of walls and parts of our faces for my reviewing, opens her EduKitchen, her Italian app that has animals making amazing sounds, and a music app. She understands these apps will have a window pop up with an X on the top right side and through time she has learned not to continuously touch the screen, but to wait for that window, X out of it and then play her games. If she goes too fast and the app store comes up she will either start the app anew, or she will find one of us tall people to fix the problem.
Sophia doesn’t quite understand how to work a laptop keyboard and mouse, however. I think about this as I learned to work a typewriter, then a desktop PC. It seems like this learning experience is backward, as touch-screen Apple is really a handheld computer with a phone app on it. Is it really backward, though? Or is it a part of the 21st century?
At the end of the day, I believe Sophia should play with Apple because Apple is a part of 2014. For her to be at least on par with her peers, Sophia will need to know how to use certain devices. Even better than that, would be for her to have an extensive understanding of how devices like Apple work, that she may create solutions to world problems.
If I lose a few apps on the way, iCloud has my back. If I don’t remember what the deleted apps were, I must have not needed them anyways. Meanwhile I am continually fascinated by the adaptation of the human brain for things that we almost only talked about as sci-fiction fifteen years ago.
What role does technology play in your household? How do you handle the use of technology by children in your home?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by Sophia. You can find her blogging at Think Say Be and on twitter @ThinkSayBeSNJ.
Photo credit to the author.
ThinkSayBe
I am a mom amongst some other titles life has fortunately given me. I love photography & the reward of someone being really happy about a photo I took of her/him. I work, I study, I try to pay attention to life. I like writing. I don't understand many things...especially why humans treat each other & other living & inanimate things so vilely sometimes. I like to be an idealist, but when most fails, I do my best to not be a pessimist: Life itself is entirely too beautiful, amazing & inspiring to forget that it is!
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The rule of thumb is “Everything in moderation”, but I agree with you technology in itself is neither good nor bad and definitely part of every day life. 🙂
When my children were small smart phones didn’t exist, but my son first started interacting with computers at the age of 3 … and is now a computer programmer! 🙂
The difference between my 4yr old daughter and my 7 yr old son was my iPad. I was never find of giving them my phone – but the iPad I had downloaded lots of games for them to play and learn with. Thanks to some of the letter and number apps my daughter was able to recognize and write almost the entire alphabet and all of the numbers from 1-10 by the time she started school when she was 3. Whereas my son did not. If used properly technology can certainly help them learn. But all in moderation ( today if I’d let them they would play with it all day long and never leave the house – as they get older you def need to put rules around technology). 🙂
We pretty much use only Tv and a laptop (for homeschooling program). Our kids, age of 2.5 and 4.5, do not have any access to iPhone, iPods, kindles,etc.
In my opinion childhood with as little electronic as possible is a better childhood. I am well aware that at some point of their lives they will naturally start using them, and that’s fine with me, but until they are at least 7 or 8, I think there is no need for that.
I agree: technology isn’t bad in itself. It’s about how you use it. We don’t have a TV but my eledst does use the iPad, sometimes to learn and sometimes to play. She gets a lot of movement, and we go outside a lot and we play with her as well. I also use technology to teach her my language and to connect with her.
I try to do it in moderation. Karyn in New Zealand peaked my interest in a post here on WMB once about cutting out screens entirely from her children — she saw great behavioral changes. I was never successfully cut out screen time, but I definitely limit the use. I’ve noticed when the kids have had too much screen time, they are very moody!!
I can’t wait to meet your little girl one day, Sophia!! (and YOU!!)
Jen 🙂
When my kids were 6 and 3, we did a little experiment: no screens of any kind for several months. The reason was the really terrible behaviour of our son when he had had screen time. Just like the WMB post Jen mentioned here (I need to read that one!), we saw huge behavioral changes.
Now, we have reintroduced the screens, but in moderation. The kids can watch tv on Wednesday and in the weekends, and preferably not right before bedtime. Our son still gets very VERY grumpy when he watches tv while being tired.
And the other screens: we allow them, once a week, and for homework. For now, using and playing on a screen is something special, a privilage, and for us, that works. For instance, it makes my daughter’s Sunday hairdressing routine (which takes about 2-3 hours, because she has tight, Ethiopian curls) a treat, because she knows it’s screen time for her!
I’m not against screens as such. I use them a lot myself, and the kids obviously know that. I just think how you deal with screen time, will also depend on how your child reacts to it. Aside from my son’s terrible behaviour after too much screen, I would never ever let my 5 year old play with my smartphone. She will have the glass broken within the hour, I’m sure 🙂
Technology is part of our family’s life. My older son uses technology for school daily. My husband not only works in software development, but in video game software development. Our gadgets are part of our lives, and my sons (ages 4 and 8) LOVE video games. They would rather spend screen time gaming than watching tv. It’s also a social currency with my older son with his peers. They all love to play and talk shop about video games. Rather than squash it, I use it as a tool and reward. Video games are a special option that are earned if chores are done, homework is complete, good manners have been shown, and adequate exercise was accomplished. Then they get a specific amount of time to play. Sometimes its 15 minutes. Some times is 1hour +. Some times it is no time that day. If they are acting out OR if they fuss when game time is ending, then it is off the table for the next day. And I should note, while they enjoy games, they also will go for a hike or play a board game with mom and dad. And my older son has friends who want gamer play dates. I agree, but they must first come in, have a snack (at which I have tons of legos laid out and they inevitably play with legos for a good chunk of time), and then they play video games before being sent outside to play to wrap up their time. They feel it’s a gaming playdate, but only about 1/3 of the time is spent on the screen. (Shh…don’t tell 😉 ).
Everyone….thank you SO much for your feedback! I am loving the insightful things you have all tried with your children, or have heard of being tried by other parents. I also have noticed behavior changes with more screen time. Sophia seems to be more moody when she gets too much screen time. She asks for her show (Super Why) throughout the day, and throws a little fit if she can’t watch it, but she gets over it fairly fast and will enjoy doing something else.
It seems this is easier to handle than the mini-screen time my soon-to-be-teen spends on her devices. lol
Sophia, we too try to keep things in moderation. No screen time (tablet or TV) until homework and chores are done, and if they do get screen time, we try to limit it to 1 or 2 episodes of a show before bedtime. Sometimes that means there is no time for the screen on a given night, but it sure does prompt my kiddos to be better about doing homework and chores the following day!
We live in a world full of variety. Some people have never seen a pc let alone ipad and paraphernalia. I am lucky. Born i a remote village, moved around a few countries in the world, i got to appreciate the knowledge and use of various screens. My best buy was in 1991 when i bought our first desktop and my children learnt from it. I didn’t learn to use it until later in another country with help of a dear friend who trusted me with his laptop. Now it is one tool which serves me as a job. Recreation and communication. I am disabled there limited. I get my freedom on the screen and from my books.
I agree that along with moral education, good manners, digital technology is essential today. Children are equipped with a bright mind ready for the challenges of our times. My little star Sophia is a good example. Here in Africa I see miracles daily. Youth with little education are deft wirh their fingers and quick intelligence. They solve electronic problems inherently. It is amazing.