"You got any games on your phone?"

The use of the internet and gadgets are being used more frequently in today’s world. It still amazes me that my 4 year old cousin knows how to use Iphones and tablets better than her own parents. Once the saying among kids was “do you have any games on your phone?” Making the adult with the phone be able to access the games and show the kid how to use your phone. Now children just ask t see you phone and ask for the password, with little to no guidance to find games or use apps. The amount of TV is still steadily increasing for kids. Studies have shown that 64% of babies between 1 and 2 watch TV and videos for an average of slightly over 2 hours; that in 2011 there were 3 million downloads just of Fisher Price apps for infants and toddlers; that estimates of how much time preschoolers spend on average with screen media range from at least 2.2 hours to as much as 4.6 hours per day? Children and teens between ages eight and 18 spend an average of seven hours and 38 minutes daily playing video games, going online and watching TV, and most have no household rules governing how much time they’re allowed to spend doing these things, according to the 2010 study.

It also tells us that developing children thrive when they are talked to, read to, and played with and given time for creative play, physically active play, and interactions with other children and adults. And there’s no research showing the benefits of introducing children to new technologies in the first years of life. Yet educators face increasing pressure to increase the amount of time children spend with digital technologies in early childhood settings, taking valuable time and resources away from activities proven to benefit learning and development. Although it can be a positive feature for kids at school and learn subjects in a fun and creative way but they have no real childhood.

Although I grew up in the technology era it was a very slow progression. I still played outside and rode my bikes with friends. Now it’s odd to see kid playing outside. I strongly encourage parents and adults to closely monitor children’s media technology habits and the time they spend with media, beginning at an early age and continuing through adolescence and the teen years. It’s important to help children to create a balance between their relationship with technology and activities that nurture their social, emotional and physical skills.