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I’ll be transparent with you – I go back and forth on this “Technology for Kids” topic at least once a week.
For example: on Sundays, Audri gets a movie night – complete with family movie night pjs and an old-fashioned rootbeer float.
Technology is quite literally her reward for six days of good behavior.
Other days, while Audri plays a game on her Leap Pad:
I stare at her from afar and secretly wonder if her little brain is frying from so much screen time…
I start thinking weird things like, “Back in my day, I played outside with a stick. Am I supposed to let her play that long? Am I a bad mom? Am I just “old-school?”
So I wanted to preface this post by stating, “I’m just a typical person. Someone who cares about the well-being of my five-year-old and doesn’t know the truth about the science of technology for kids.”
Unfortunately, there is extensive amounts of research that supports the detrimental effects of technology and overstimulation on a child’s developing brain.
Bummer, I know…
Technically a child’s brain isn’t even developed until they are 25!
Wait…why was I allowed to drive a car, drink alcohol, vote for the President, and smoke all before my brain was fully developed???
I don’t make the rules, but something is wrong with this picture….
Anyway, children should never be exposed to more than 2 hours of technology time per day.
That’s one episode of PJ Masks, Peppa Pig, 30 minutes of Leap Pad games, and another 30 minutes learning on abcmouse.com
That seems easy enough to manage, but I still wanted a more in-depth answer to why technology for kids isn’t great.
So, I asked Paul why it was so detrimental and here’s his response from years studying child development:
- Technology STUNTS brain development and growth.
- It encourages a short attention span.
- It increases high impulsivity.
- It discourages self control and patience.
- It’s increases the risk for learning disabilities like ADHD, depression and anxiety.
Because technology is constant, immediate gratification – children expect this to be normal in every area of life.
This leaves them less capable to handle difficult tasks that require sustained effort or mental focus.
The more technology Audri uses, the more she learns not to think.
This teaches Audri to act out selfishly (even as an adult) to get what she wants, run people over, exploit and manipulate others, etc.
Which makes sense why she acts differently after I take the remote control away than if we’ve been playing a board game for the past hour.
The best thing I can do for Audri is engage with her rather than setting her in front of a device. We won’t bond and she won’t grow otherwise.
Puzzles, mazes, crafts, reading, workbooks, exercises, are all fun ways to grow Audri’s little brain into her full potential.
When she asks to watch more television or play a game online, I will tell her it’s not good for her.
She will get creative and learn to have fun without technology!
It’s my job to do what’s best for her, not what’s easiest for me.
Thank you for stopping by today! Let me know what you think about technology for kids below!
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Tracy Bloyd
I have been teaching Tj colors with old fashioned flash cards and he loves it. No technology is turned on and he has to speak to me and learn to sound out his words correctly. He is only 2 – I love this time.