To not let my three year old use technology

[ohmygodkaren]

I've always thought that not allowing my three year old to use technology was good. Strains her eye's, she can learn using paper and pen etc etc

I was speaking to my sister who made the valid point of when my dad starts school. They will use stuff like iPad and computers.

My dd won't have a clue how too use them.

Can I have some perspective on this?

Should I start allowing her too use it, such as games to learn. How long should she go on it for? What iPads should I buy for her etc etc??

My 2.5 year old has a Kindle fire for kids and it's great. Lots of educational games and a great protective case. I think it's great for problem solving as well. It's fun watching her start a new game and figuring out what she needs to do. She still loves her books and other toys.

Tech shouldn’t replace physical play (though I’m currently watching black mirror so who knows!) but it’s fine to replace pen and paper and traipsing off to the library

Does she go to nursery/pre-school?

My DD definitely uses both a computer mouse/desktop and tablet at nursery.

At home she’s uses an app that is helping her to learn her phonic sounds, nursery rhyme apps and a couple of websites on my laptop that helps her practice her numbers. She goes on CBeebies as well.

But sometimes she watches other people unwrapping kinder eggs etc on YouTube.

The amazon fire kids is a brilliant tablet. 2 year no quibbles guarantee if the break it. Access to loads of stuff via amazon kids. The best bit is the parental controls. Can set timers. So can use for “...” on weekdays and “...” on weekends. My son just accepts when his time has run out he can’t use it.
You can also set goals, such as can only use apps once they’ve done a set time of reading etc.
Can’t access anything that isn’t age appropriate, internet browser is so limited, but if you want them to be able to go on YouTube etc you can go through your pin protected adult profile and allow access to it. Or if there’s an app they want you can send it over to them from your adult profile. I like that o don’t have to worry about what my son might click on, and he can’t get pop ups, adds, etc.

I am an Early Years teacher,. I agree to some extent that children are growing up in a technological word and so need experience of technology.

However imo virtually everything that a 3 year old can do on a tablet, can be done better through play.

Your child will not be “behind” or disadvantaged from not having much technology experience. They might be important life skills but so to is tying your shoe laces or driving a car, you wouldn’t expect a toddler to master those skills.

Evidence shows that children are starting school with poorer fine motor control and speech, due to over- use of technology.

However, I’m not totally against young children using tablets. Everything in moderation.
It’s finding the right balance for you and your Child. My own dc have had access to our phones/tablets from a young age, but at a level we felt comfortable with. Although when younger, they lost interest quite quickly so we never really had to prise them off (not so easy now they’re older)

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DD is 4 and currently uses the family tablet once a week with me to do her nursery-approved maths and phonics games. Then she watches crap on youtube for half an hour. Once a week, if I remember.

She goes to nursery every day, for five hours.

They do more natural playing, spend a lot of time outside. Do tons of play dough, painting etc etc..

She goes swimming on Monday, we go the library y every Wednesday, she walks the dog almost every day with her dad.

Saturday she goes to dance.

And Sunday is family day.

So I think the days she has free we could definitely try and incorporate some technology into her lifestyle.

We want her to learn French as well do they have any. Apps for that???

I'm a pro screens mum too. My DD has used the tablet (android version) since about 2 and is now 4 (we have strict controls on it). She plays educational phonics games, drawing games, she's built virtual houses in the duplo and lego app ones and makes up little stories as she's playing with it, the playmobil games are great as they teach different skills and she was watching educational videos on YouTube about animals and planets the other day. She is very good at self regulating her use and will often abandon the tablet before I even announce that time is up to go and play. I feel it aids her imagination and offers downtime in another way (she's very active and loves digging in the mud and running around!). When she was younger she used to watch nursery rhymes and it helped her language skills and she loves singing and dancing to the songs. She uses one at nursery too and will do so in reception. Personally I feel that technology is the future and thus unlike my age group, experience of how to navigate technology is an essential part of life, in moderation.

PS: if you search the app store I'm sure they'll be some child focused French language apps. Just watch out for the ones that try and get you to buy things mid game!!

My daughter does all those things at nursery too. But they definitely use technology, as far as I am aware it is on the early years statutory framework that her pre-school use. She also does swimming lessons and gymnastics.

Technology and an active and varied lifestyle aren’t mutually exclusive.

A quick search on the App Store shows a number of pre school French apps.

If I had my time again I would use more computers and less TV. There are loads of great educational apps. My eldest was rated 'below expectations' on IT in pre-school (which I do think is a bit bonkers)! Mine like programming now on Scratch, maths games etc. I keep educational apps to the main ones they have access to and leave dh to have the fun ones so they pester him not me . There is a balance to be had though.

I've known numerous teenagers more than accustomed to tapping away at their phones and consoles, but their functional comptuter skills were dire; typing, even simple things like saving files regularly and using logical file names so you can find your coursework again. Missing out on a screen is not necessarily a disadvantage for early education and long term competancy.

My DCs do use family computers and tablets. DS1 had a phase of watching Lego videos which did inspire him for his own creations. He wasn't the most imaginative at play, so watching others play on videos developed that.

We aim to save the tech until late in the day, after burning off energy and useful activities like tidying their room.

Chatting with a school librarian a few years ago, he said that there was some movement back to books over the internet for younger secondary age groups because the published material was more accessible to younger readers. DS loves his non-fiction and definitely finds attractive refererence books with larger print and small chunks of text more accessible than finding the right pitch online.

As with so many things, it's how you use it that counts.

Is there a paper version of MN you could use? Your poor eyes will fall out with all this screen time.

This is taken from the EArly Years Framework “development matters” .which is the statutory curriculum.

www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2012/03/Development-Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf

My daughter is 3 and had an amazon fire and she can use our Apple Mac too.

She is monitored on them but uses them better than I do.

Technology is just a way of life now and For me personally it's a good thing the can use them.

Just be carful your little one doesn't become obsessed with it.

X

My daughter is in primary 1 & they mainly use computers with a mouse in their class. Dragging numbers, colouring, letters, typing on a keyboard, spelling. They do have access to tablets but they don't use them.

We didn't get an iPad until Christmas & our kids are hardly on it. Hasn't made them fall behind. Let's face it most kids are watching films, playing minecraff or CBeebies & they don't do that in school.

"But nobody should kid themselves that their child who navigates iPads and YouTube is a computer genius"

I couldn't agree more.

The only benefit for a 3 year old using an iPad is to give the parents a little peace. The same goes for television.

Our children only get television and iPads at the weekend (4 and 7) and that's only until DH and I get up. Then they go away.

From Year 1 upwards, the eldest has used an iPad every day for homework (15 minutes - timed). The youngest has no interest.

Basic computer or tech use can be taught in a couple of sessions; swiping, tapping, clicking etc. You're hardly giving them a head start. If anyone is pretending to use them for education then their time would be much better spent with some Phase 1 phonics or basic numeracy.

I must be a crap, lazy parent then!! I don't "time" DD's usage of the tablet (she's 4). She can use it as and when she wants. She's at nursery all day and when she gets home she'll ask to go to the park if it's nice weather, if not she'll sit on the tablet for a few hours in the evening before bed at 8pm.

She's bright, switched on and can navigate/use/turn the tablet on and off.

It's done her no harm & I've never understood the need to 'time' kids usage of the things they want to do.

It's all about context. My DS plays maths games, word games etc. Others can sit with unfettered access to YouTube.

"I must be a crap, lazy parent then!"

Never met you but some reading on the subject would go amiss.

"she'll sit on the tablet for a few hours in the evening before bed at 8pm."

bed at 8?!

sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2016/02/17/electronic-devices-kids-and-sleep-how-screen-time-keeps-them-awake/

www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/why-screen-time-bed-bad-children/

www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/enewsletter/screen-time-and-sleep

My DD 3 has a leappad tablet which she mainly uses to take blurry photos of the cats and sing to the few songs that are on there, she doesn't get glued to it for long at all though. She's capable of using my phone to open her games and navigate through the menus, and at preschool they have a few computers/tablets that they all play on.
I'm all for limiting screen time, but in today's world you can't keep them from it completely. Moderation :)

I am a secondary teacher and quite shocked at how poor most of my pupils' IT skills are. They are hopeless navigating a PC and seem to have limited knowledge of the net aside from YouTube and Facebook. From talking to the pupils I gather it's a combination of either not having tech access at home (particularly in terms of not everyone having a PC at home) and preferring to do other activities in their spare time. I don't think the younger generation are as tech mad as people believe.

I work in IT. This stuff is designed to be more or less instantly accessible to everyone. There is absolutely no need at all for them to have any understanding of how to use any devices before they start school.

And as for the poster who said her child's teacher said they were advanced in computing, advanced in what exactly?

Don't bother OP, it's a massive waste of time.

Before I had my son I was against screen time, ipad etc. He is nearly 2 and can navigate to youtube on my phone to watch his nursery rhymes. He has started to learn to sing along to some parts and enjoys a dance to them. I do allow TV but equally he is out and about being active or at nursery, so it is a wind down. I let him play learning games too. I have changed my opinion and just see computers as a different way of learning. He also has a chalk board and enjoys doodling on that, but equally also enjoys ‘painting’ computer games. I just think move with the times, in years to come I don’t even think it will be questioned. His development hasn’t been affected so far. He sees his parents on technology so of course wants to have a go!

Our dds have always used them. Dd3 is 18 months and can use it simply.

They only use it for an hour or so dd2 (5) probably a bit more.

IT is the future and both will do IT studies and coding as they get older. We have a couple of buisness and know how vital IT is.

I'm an early years teacher and I think any time spent on tech is wasted when pre school children could be doing other things instead
There is just no need for children to be glued to screens when they could and should be exploring and learning about the world around them
Plus, its good for children to feel bored, it makes them use their imaginations
I have no problem with children using tech at school when it's for a purpose
In my nursery we give the children experiences they don't all get at home, which is more likely to be going outside in all weathers and going for walks.