Technology Advice for Parents with Toddlers
I was watching my nephew use an iPad the other day. He is 3, but I marveled at how he navigated the iPad. I watched him as he watched a video and then gracefully moved from the YouTube app to the YouTube Kids app. I guess he got bored with that first video. I watched for a few minutes and noticed he was watching videos for a short while, never really reaching the mid-point of any of them, and then moving onto the next recommended video. Watching him I wondered about my own students and how their relationship with technology could have been different. The advice I would like to give to my nephew's parents and other parents with toddlers is the following: • always know what you're child is doing on the device, • be present - use should always happen in front of you, • set time limits - the AACAP recommends only an hour a day for children 3-5 years old, • talk about what they do and why - try to understand them, • encourage creation over consumption. This list is not comp...