Raising A Child In This Digital Age

Back then, mothers mostly stay at home to tend to the needs of the family. She is the perfect example of a multi-tasker even until today. However, taking care of the children was different. Mothers take time to be always hands-on ensuring that the best care is given to their children. Not that they are no longer great moms, however, with the advanced technology, raising children has never been the same.

It is now quite common to have both parents at work. The smaller children are taken cared by either grandparents or they hire a nanny. While having both parents working to help meet the needs of the family, there are some consequences which has affected the children as they grow older.

1.     The absence of parents has somehow made the children feel freer to do the things that they want.

2.     The lack of quality time pushes the children to be with their friends than spend it with their family.

3.     Young children are forced to keep quiet all the time and to avoid tantrums, these devices like mobile phone, tablets or desktops are given to them.

Technology has given us so much to help make things easier for us to do. The internet, for one, has almost replaced the need of going to the library since almost everything can be read with just a few clicks. Years ago, students need to borrow books to be able to do their homework. The encyclopedia has become one of the most important books that every household should have. But now, we can just simply Google everything and our research is done.

Everything that is around us has both positive and a negative effect. The only thing that differentiates them is on how you do these things. For example, we now have Smart TVs of varying sizes. Initially, parents would be the ones excited to have one at home for entertainment purposes like watching movies. But since it has the ability to be connected to the internet, it can also become a great tool for teaching small children.

You see children everywhere holding on to their own tablets or iPads. And parents would install educational apps to help their children learn. This can be both good and bad. Why? If parents don’t set any limitations in using these devices, toddlers would have a difficulty coping up with school when the right time comes. How? First of all, the attention of children may be more focused on these apps that normal interaction would be difficult to achieve. Second, no matter how advanced our technology will become, using pen and paper may not be obsolete, at least not too soon. Children who are used to just clicking and swiping may have difficulties grasping a pencil or crayons.

Using TV as an Educational Tool

Instead of letting your small children immerse themselves with their gadgets just for you to buy time in wanting to have your “me time”, make your bonding moment with your children more memorable and educational. Most Smart TVs have pre-installed YouTube. Some has even the ability to download additional apps. Instead of just enjoying the Smart TV with your spouse and older children, you can use it to teach your children, too.

Just imagine how your own teacher taught you at school when you were younger. Using a bigger screen instead of just a blackboard or a whiteboard, children seeing colorful pictures and hearing these songs can be more encouraging for them. There are TV shows for kids which you can introduce. However, always give limitations. You don’t want to let your children grow up too attached to the virtual world that making real interaction with the world can be daunting for them.

Did you know that there was a study among school aged children that those who had more exposure to television in their early childhood did slightly better than those with less exposure? This may be brought about how children can easily grasp information if they are presented in a way that can stimulate their minds through their eyes and ears. Therefore, choosing the right kind of shows should be necessary all the time.

If children are exposed to information which they may need in their everyday lives, then these are positive information that children should be encouraged to watch. There is a large majority of children between aged 10-16 years old who are fond of playing video games which can be too much for their young mind. It teaches violence. And psychologists have proven that constant exposure to such stimuli can have a permanent effect on the child’s behavior.

Television can have a greater positive impact to less advantaged families since the children makes use of the television as their means of learning. For children with highly educated parents and rich home environment, the cognitive effects may be smaller. This may be brought about how the family can be active in other things which the children become exposed early on.

Allow your children to explore the world around them and identify the things that can help them in a good way. Let them know how things can affect them differently if not given enough information about them. The television can be both a beneficial and harmful tool for children. But as parents, you should be responsible in assuring that your children grow up in a way that they should be by properly guiding them in everything that they do.

Be a smart parent by teaching them values and valuable lessons that they can hand on to their own children someday. Televisions and other gadgets should not be used as a surrogate parent. It should be your ally in teaching them the basics and to create a good foundation for learning. The television can be an educational blessing which can help increase the verbal IQ of children and not tools in rearing mindless and carefree individuals. Suffice it to say that the children’s overall behavior depends on what they watch, how much they watch and where it's watched.