I
am not a technology expert. I don’t have a background in IT or in
Education. What I do have are two daughters under six who both love to
use mummy and daddy’s tablet and smart phone. The eldest is now also
starting to show an interest in the laptop with its mysterious lack of
touchscreen functions.
At
first it was such a cute sight to watch them show their curiosity with
these items. To see as they learned to swipe their fingers across the
screen, move from one game or app to another, to make the device respond
to their touch. Then they progressed to playing the games we had
downloaded for them, watch videos on YouTube or on I-Player. Then,
slowly realising that actually, your child was probably more interested
in playing with this thing in their hand than they are with you. It
began to dawn on me that maybe I should gen up on how these devices
affect children and what we would need to do to make sure they were
exploring technology within the safest environment possible.
Reading
articles on the internet turned up the usual polarising material,
ranging from fire and brimstone ‘technology will damage your child
forever’ to the more benign ‘technology will help your child’s
development’. Of course, as with all things moderation is the key. But
one thing that did strike me when reading these articles was the level
of ignorance of all parties. The age old joke is that the child can work
the video/TV/microwave better than the parent, as children love to
learn how to work new ‘toys’. However, when these ‘toys’ can access
unlimited content how can you be sure that they are only looking at what
is suitable. I am coming at this from the perspective of a parent of
very young children. Obviously parents of older children will want to
widen the scope of what they can see, but the point is they still need
to understand HOW they are viewing it. You can control what you have
inside your own home, but when devices allow you to look outside how do
you ensure they are doing so safely?
Children
develop quickly, technology develops fast too. My reasoning is, that if
you want to understand how your child is interacting with the outside
world using technology, you need to stay up to date. You and your child
can learn this together, bond over the shared experience of discovering
what using these devices are capable of. But at the same time know that
the technology and systems you are using are set up appropriately.
Communicate to your children how they should behave online, as, although
they are safely behind a screen – they should still apply the same
caution as when interacting with strangers in the ‘real’ world.
This
site was started to learn and share this information. A repository of
useful links and advice about how to explore the potential that
technology can offer us, and know that my daughters – and I – can do so
confidently and safely.
Dan
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