Technology and Children: So Young, and So Gadgeted

Reading the online article So Young, and So Gadgeted on the New York Times website brings to mind a few comments on technology for children.

Technology aimed at 0-2 and 3-5 year olds is created to sell using an educational twist. For those of you who want your child to be super tech literate as early as possible, these baby tech toys are not the equivalent of training wheels on a bike in that they do not really help children move to that next stage.

The equipment is generally just a toy with some features to entice parents. It's preferable to focus on reading real books to your child, building a Pink Tower, working with sandpaper letters and movable alphabet sets, and then going outside for some physical play.

When your child is interested in using your laptop or a PC, introduce a real one with some practical and fun applications such as emailing a relative, using skype to place a video call to the grandparents.