1 of 15
Slide Notes
Today I would like to discuss with you the benefits and drawbacks of using various forms of technology with your children. Technology has made many things easier in our lives and has helped to keep us connected to one another, but we run the risk of letting it over run our, and our children’s lives.
In this presentation we’ll talk about the benefits and the drawbacks. I’ll also offer some best practices to help you cultivate a healthy attachment to technology in your child. We will discuss the warning signs and provide some resources to help you encourage your children to maintain a technology balance in their lives.
When I mention technology, I am referring to computers, iPads, smart phones, and gaming systems.
Let’s begin with the benefits technology can bring to your child’s life.
In this presentation we’ll talk about the benefits and the drawbacks. I’ll also offer some best practices to help you cultivate a healthy attachment to technology in your child. We will discuss the warning signs and provide some resources to help you encourage your children to maintain a technology balance in their lives.
When I mention technology, I am referring to computers, iPads, smart phones, and gaming systems.
Let’s begin with the benefits technology can bring to your child’s life.
Technology And Your Children
No Description
MORE DECKS TO EXPLORE
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
TECHNOLOGY AND YOUR CHILD
A LOOK AT THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS
Today I would like to discuss with you the benefits and drawbacks of using various forms of technology with your children. Technology has made many things easier in our lives and has helped to keep us connected to one another, but we run the risk of letting it over run our, and our children’s lives.
In this presentation we’ll talk about the benefits and the drawbacks. I’ll also offer some best practices to help you cultivate a healthy attachment to technology in your child. We will discuss the warning signs and provide some resources to help you encourage your children to maintain a technology balance in their lives.
When I mention technology, I am referring to computers, iPads, smart phones, and gaming systems.
Let’s begin with the benefits technology can bring to your child’s life.
In this presentation we’ll talk about the benefits and the drawbacks. I’ll also offer some best practices to help you cultivate a healthy attachment to technology in your child. We will discuss the warning signs and provide some resources to help you encourage your children to maintain a technology balance in their lives.
When I mention technology, I am referring to computers, iPads, smart phones, and gaming systems.
Let’s begin with the benefits technology can bring to your child’s life.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema
PARENT GUIDED EDUCATIONAL MOMENTS
There are many apps, websites, TV shows, and computer programs available that are aimed at helping your child learn. The key to helping your child get the most out of their screen time is to sit with them and help them to understand what they are learning and experiencing. This is especially true for children under the age of five. Providing guidance can help deepen your child’s comprehension and understanding.
Photo by Alexander Dummer
SELF DIRECTED LEARNING
Technology allows older children to take the time to delve into a deeper understanding of topics that interest them, whether it be tracking the performance of their favorite sports team, learning just how a car works, or the key to baking a perfect cake. By using the information superhighway, children can learn more about a topic, without having to take a trip to the library.
Photo by Nicolas Alejandro Street Photography
GLOBAL CONNECTION
The internet and technology allow us to stay connected to family and friends both near and far. We can meet new people and more easily see what life is like outside of our hometown.
Photo by mkhmarketing
A MEANS FOR CREATIVE WORK
Technology opens creative pathways for children be it digital design, photography, videography, designing games and apps, or composing music.
Photo by Rober González
ADDICTIVE
As I am sure many have heard our parents say “there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.” Just like alcohol, food, and cigarettes, technology and screens can be addicting. These devices and their content provide a hit of dopamine, that happy feel good chemical that signals to the brain that we have received a reward, and repetitive release of dopamine can make your child want to choose that activity again and again until they are dependent on it.
Photo by Chapendra
DOES NOT INCREASE ATTENTION SPAN
As parents we sometimes believe that our children have great attention spans, because they’re able to sit and watch a movie for one and a half hours, but in reality that shows us the opposite. As Dr. Nicholas Kardaras explains in his book, Glow Kids (2016), children can maintain that focus on the screen because they receiving frequent intermittent rewards, through the fast paced, exciting action of the movie. A child with a healthy attention span can hold focus on something that does not give them those rewards (p. 125).
Photo by smileham
DOES NOT IMPROVE LEARNING
ESPECIALLY IN UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS
We have all witnessed the push to increase the availability of technology in the classroom, often touted as a means for increasing learning and closing the achievement gap. However, research shows that any gains in learning is slightly lower than non-technology interventions, and little improvement is seen in mediocre and dysfunctional schools (Kardaras, 2016, p. 201-202).
Photo by BarbaraLN
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
TO BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Most startling may be the research that shows how in children who played video games, there were delays in the “development of microstructures in extensive brain regions and verbal intelligence” (Kardaras, 2016, p. 17). Brain scans have shown that in overstimulated brains there are decreases in myelin, which is the white substance in our brains that helps to connect neurons and make our brains work faster (Kardaras, 2016, p. 64).
Photo by dierk schaefer
HARD TO CONTROL CONTENT
We all worry about our children seeing something they shouldn’t see, and the risk of that happening increases when we hand them an iPad or give them a smartphone. We can put parental controls in place, but the fact is that some children will be able to get past those, and it’s hard to control what is shared with them via social media.
Photo by Lars Plougmann
BEST PRACTICES
- 0-18 months- No Screen time; 18 months-2 years- quality programming watched with parents
- 2-5 years- up to one hour a day, with parents providing guidance, explanation, and feedback
- 6 years+- set consistent limits, technology should not replace healthy habits, like sleep and physical activity.
- Have open conversations about safe use, digital citizenship, and online stranger danger.
The American Academy of Pediatricians has created guidelines aimed at foster a healthy tech relationship in this technology driven world. The academy recommends that children under the age of 18 months have no screen time at all, this includes television, but excludes video calls. For children from 18 months to 2 years of age, parents can begin to watch high quality programming with their children to help provide understanding in regards to what they’re seeing. From age 2 to 5 years, the academy recommends no more than one hour a day of media use, again with parents providing guidance, explanation, and feedback in order to deepen understanding. Beyond the age of six, parents are encouraged to set consistent limits to the time and type of technology their children are allowed. They also warn that time with media should not begin to replace healthy habit, like sleep and physical activity.
In addition to these guidelines, parents must be having frequent and open conversations with their children about safe use, digital citizenship and therefore cyber bullying, online stranger danger, and in general what the children are doing on their devices and who are the associating with.
In addition to these guidelines, parents must be having frequent and open conversations with their children about safe use, digital citizenship and therefore cyber bullying, online stranger danger, and in general what the children are doing on their devices and who are the associating with.
Photo by daystar297
WARNING SIGNS
- Unsuccessful control
- Loss of interest
- Preoccupation
- Psychosocial Consequences
- Serious problems due to use
We’ve already mentioned that technology use can be an addiction as real as alcohol or drug addiction. The warning signs for those addictions are very similar to those shown, which were originally listed in article on the University of Michigan’s website, Michigan News.
Children who have a screen addiction find it hard to stop using screen media and often lose interest in activities, except those relating to screen media. A child’s favorite form of technology may preoccupy all their thoughts and its use interferes with their relationships both inside and outside the family, causing serious problems within the family.
Children who have a screen addiction find it hard to stop using screen media and often lose interest in activities, except those relating to screen media. A child’s favorite form of technology may preoccupy all their thoughts and its use interferes with their relationships both inside and outside the family, causing serious problems within the family.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez
WARNING SIGNS
- Withdrawal
- Tolerance
- Deception
- Escape/relieve mood
You may also notice that when they cannot use technology they become withdrawn and frustrated. Their tolerance for time allowed using screen media grows and they keep requesting more time, often sneaking use if they are not allowed to use it. For some children when they have a bad day the use of technology will seem to be the only thing that helps them feel better.
These are just a handful of warning signs you may notice with your children, but if you wonder at all about how healthy their attachment to technology is, it may be wise to begin cutting back on their use. It’s important to remember to replace the time with healthy activities, like reading, playing with toys, exploring nature, or anything else not screen related that interests your child.
These are just a handful of warning signs you may notice with your children, but if you wonder at all about how healthy their attachment to technology is, it may be wise to begin cutting back on their use. It’s important to remember to replace the time with healthy activities, like reading, playing with toys, exploring nature, or anything else not screen related that interests your child.
Photo by Lars Plougmann
PARENTAL RESOURCES
- AAP Guidelines- aap.org
- GlowKids.com
- Play 60 via the NFL
- Let’s Move initiative started by Michelle Obama
- i9 Sports
- Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg
- Dauphin Country Parks and Recreation Summer Day Camps
Sometimes as parents it’s hard to know where to turn and how to start. Listed here are some resources available both online and in your community.
If you wish to learn more about the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, you can visit their website aap.org. Glow Kids is the website created by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, whose book by the same title was mentioned previously. Play 60 and Let’s Move are two initiatives created o get children up and moving without screens in their hands.
Locally we have several options for getting your children involved in sports, like i9, and other recreation programs. The Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg has many programs from art and music to sports and fitness. They even have some education and career programs. If you’re looking for a way to keep your child screen free over the summer, check out Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Summer Day camps. These camps take place in Wildwood Park, some are half day and some are full day. They explore nature, science, and even photography.
I hope this presentation has given you a lot to consider, as well as some helpful guidelines and resources to help ensure that your child develops a healthy relationship with technology.
If you wish to learn more about the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, you can visit their website aap.org. Glow Kids is the website created by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, whose book by the same title was mentioned previously. Play 60 and Let’s Move are two initiatives created o get children up and moving without screens in their hands.
Locally we have several options for getting your children involved in sports, like i9, and other recreation programs. The Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg has many programs from art and music to sports and fitness. They even have some education and career programs. If you’re looking for a way to keep your child screen free over the summer, check out Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Summer Day camps. These camps take place in Wildwood Park, some are half day and some are full day. They explore nature, science, and even photography.
I hope this presentation has given you a lot to consider, as well as some helpful guidelines and resources to help ensure that your child develops a healthy relationship with technology.
RESOURCES
- AAP. (2016). American Academy of Pediatrics Announces New Recommendations for Children’s Media Use. Retrieved from http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/american-academ....
- Kardaras, Nicholas. (2016). Glow Kids [Kindle version]. Retrieved from amazon.com
- Bailey, Laura. (2017, December 01). Kids and screen time: Signs your child might be addicted. Michigan News. Retrieved from http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/25302-kids-and-screen-time-signs-your-chil...
