Nowadays, it is not the question of if’ your little one is going to be computer literate or not- it is rather, when exactly you should your allow your child to get their hands on your laptop. The question is how young is too young to start thinking about the nitty-gritty of technology for your young tots. The answer is debatable.

While some experts are of the opinion that technology savvy children are better equipped for school, others believe that too much technology is too big of exposure for your little ones. So if you have been thinking about this lately and haven’t come to a solid conclusion yet, here are some snippets of wisdom that’ll give you a complete insight on tots and technology. It will also help you to decide whether you should allow your child to embrace the world of technology at a tender age.

Tots and Technology – How does it help?

Despite the constant criticism, it is unanimously agreed by most, that technology indeed opens some exciting opportunities for growth that truly helps your child at a young age.

Develops hand-eye coordination

This is one of the primary reasons why you should introduce your child to technology at a young age. As your little one toggles between the various applications, they get an excellent opportunity to develop their hand-eye coordination.

This is likely to occur when your kid follows a particular object on the screen and actively take part in the activity that the purpose or application presents. The hand-eye coordination that begins from working with apps eventually helps them in school as they first learn to use their hands and eyes while they draw or write.

Improves their language skills

When you let your tots and technology mingle, you also open ways for developing their language skills. When your kids read eBooks or access stories online, they also get to learn many new words and understand the proper way to pronounce them. Language development apps now come with multi-sensory engagement. In turn, this helps to speed up the language learning process for your kids.

Promotes cognitive development

Technology is indeed an essential aspect of early education, as it renders the significant opportunities and skills that help children be ready for schools. There are several computer programs which are developmentally appropriate.

These programs effectively boost your child’s readiness to study math or reading. Technology provides the fundamental skills that children should have to be highly competent in school. It ignited their high-order thinking and applied learning.

Better visual attention

Very often, parents have a preconceived notion that games affect their kid the wrong way. However, this is not always the case. Most of the times, gaming, and several other learning apps helps your children pay more attention to small details and improves their visual attention.

Ever observed how your child seems to be completely engaged while playing a game? Well, this is because he is focusing on his next move. This is one of the most significant aspects that pave the way for your child’s patience and visual attention.

Helps them to interact better

As your tiny tots develop their language skills, they are also able to imbibe the ideas that assist them with communicating and interacting with others. Technology, when used the right way, can help your child to collaborate better with people.

Some schools have already come up with programs where children are given the opportunity to write and solve problems with others by using technology. In the long run, this further enhances their problem-solving abilities and helps them to succeed in the long-term. At the same time, technology can also be used for increasing motivation, improving the dynamic spatial skills and developing essential abilities and talents.

What are the disadvantages?

Just like the benefits, there are also a couple of problems of letting your tots mingle with technology. One of the main cons is the fact that exposure to technology, if not controlled, can cut down on your child’s people time. The games and apps can be interactive, but very often; kids get so engrossed in the virtual world that they almost forget about the real people who exist around them.

At the same time, they also end up wasting their study hours indulging in things that do not positively impact them. The excessive sensory effects of the smartphones and computers can also easily overwhelm your toddler. Eventually, it can make them sedentary and also lazy. Parents should make sure that kids use the technology only for a limited period in the entire day.

Screen time should not only be limited, but it should also be monitored to ensure that your children are not exposed to the adverse facets of technology. Just like you encourage your little ones to spend screen time, also encourage them to indulge in other real’, physical activities.

How Young is Too Young?

A survey conducted by the Tonight program suggests how 47 percent of the parents believe that it is important for their child to familiarize with technology before they start school. At the same time, seventeen per cent of children under three has their smartphones or tablet.

This is something not recommended by most social scientists and child psychologists. They believe that the right age for a child to be familiar with technology is always more than five. So before that, parents should always control their little ones from using smartphones or computers.

On a Final Note

Smartphone and PCs are indeed becoming the 21st-century babysitter. So it is important on the part of parents to encourage the mingling of tots and technology. Kids should not only be motivated to learn using technology, but parents should also encourage them to learn with technology and learn about technology.

Children should be made aware of the good and bad facets of technology from a very young age. Although they should be allowed to embrace the smartphones and tablets, their screen time should be limited. Parents should focus on helping their kids work more with educational apps. It is only then when a child can benefit from technology both in matters of education and entertainment.