To be getting irritated with all the "woe is society, children shouldn't use technology" ideas

[BlingLoving]

I see it here all the time. I see it on FB. I hear it. Real life, "oh, i never let ds play with my iPad, he only does wholesome things like roll in the mud and draw with organic crayons".

And when these people are challenged they just ignore it.

I am not talking about the people commenting on children spending literally hours on the computer, tv etc. we can probably all agree that too much of anything is bad. But the self righteous comments about children being given iPhones while their parents are standing in a long post office queue or whatever justbdrives me crazy.

We live in a busy and crowded world and expect our dc to fit in with our lives. A little technology helps us!

As a child we weren't allowed to watch TV until we were quite old, and I didn't see a film until I was 11 or so. We didn't have pop music. My parents were into that very 80s kind of 'good parenting' where they thought films and TV would rot our brains. The actual result was that I ended up alienated from other children because I didn't have the foggiest what they were talking about. There are still lots of references I just don't get because I didn't grow up with them.

I also have a hunch my ability to follow a film plot is shite because I didn't learn that skill as a child, but it could also be natural stupidity.

I think it is quite cruel to do that to a child. So I reckon going to extremes is bad.

I agree with other posters that it's natural for each generation to think new technology is scary and will destroy old skills. Pliny the Elder recorded druids in Britain who were really bothered about this new-fangled written culture stuff, because they said it'd destroy people's memories if they learned to rely on writing. This is not a new kind of anxiety and it doesn't seem that people have become progressively stupider and less able as new technologies have come in.

That is a very interesting quote LRD, will look into that for a tutorial.

Sorry, I wish I knew the reference, but I don't. It might even be Caesar not Pliny - it's one or other of them. We had to do it for GCSE but that was a long time ago!

Ahh ... but, see, google knows better than me. Here: asb4.com/floor/philes/prehistory_cap/celtic_writing_f.htm

My DCs are very comfortable with technology. I have, however taught them how to use reference books, etc, so they are not reliant on the comuter for all the answers. I reckon that we could be facing power cuts unless the Govt gets to grips with the power situation, so the DCs need to be able to use alternatives to keep up with schoolwork.

Meanwhile, they can both read well, and DS (aged 9) is finally starting to read for pleasure (Famous Five ) like his older sister, and not just read for his education.

So I feel that constantly refering back to our parents age and how things were done then is totally irrelevant, as technology is here to stay, we just have to learn to use it wisely.

I don't know why we idolise books so much. As some have noted on here, books are solitary and don't encourage socialisation. You can read with a child in the same way you can play with them on the ipad. I teach secondary and until a few years ago I always told them to research things in the library and not use wiki etc but frankly now, that makes no sense. When they are in the 6th form I take them to the library and show them how to look things up, make notes from a long book etc in prep for uni but we can't pretend that the internet isn't there. Any studies on this cannot preclude other factors so a simple equation of x screen hours = disaster isn't going to work. As many other posters have said it is about how the technology is used and what is watched/ played etc, as well as the level of interaction we have while they are playing it. As for using it in a "keep them amused" way, well, if it means that the parents can have a bit of adult conversation and an unhurried lunch once in a while, fine. I find the "well we talk to our children thing faintly martyrish. Most of us, by and large and pretty good parents and I personally think I am a better one if I am able to keep myself sane by not sacrificing my entire existence to the cause 24/7.

I've never ever heard anyone say that children shouldn't use new technology. I've heard people express concern about children spending too much time on their DS or the IPad or whatever to the detriment of socialising with other children or reading a book.
It was the same when I was a child. There were no computer games or Facebook etc but parents were anxious that their children would not spend too much time watching telly and in a lot of houses, including mine, you weren't allowed have it on during the day and in the evening homework had to be done first.

And Plato worried about the "youth" and how lazy and lacking in morals they were... Agree, it's not new.

Meh each to their own. We are tech mad in our house. But spend most evenings outside and weekends away, kids get muddy too. They get bored after 20 mins on iPod or whatever and go on to something else. They have time limited access to technology and I think it is a good thing to know. Times have moved on.....unless you are all sending smoke signals to write on MN

Bit of everything makes for good health and play.