Technology Advice for Parents with Toddlers

By Thomas Hammerlund -


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 comprehensive, and the points need to be expanded on, but it is a start for now.



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