Are iPads causing speech problems for young children? Yes, if you believe a recent Sydney newspaper headline. The article suggested that iPads were responsible for developmental speech impairments in Kindergarten children. The article claimed that increasing numbers of children were … [Read more...]
Is Screen-Time Robbing Your Child of Reading Time?
Parents and teachers frequently lament that today’s kids are not reading as much as they used to. And this conversation often leads to, “Back in my day…” But this is more than just a nostalgic claim. As the video below exemplifies, reading traditional books has become … [Read more...]
How Young is Too Young to Introduce Technology?
Have you seen the latest Fisher-Price iPad Apptivity Seat? It is a reclining baby bouncer seat with a mirror, with the option to slip an iPad (or other tablet device) into the mirror case and show apps and videos to babies. Yes, to babies. Very young babies that can not yet sit … [Read more...]
Simon Sinek: Are Parents & Technology REALLY to Blame for ADD/ADHD?
Parents frequently ask me, “Do iPads, TVs, DVDs, video games (insert any media device really) cause ADD/ADHD?” As a parent and as a children’s technology researcher, this is a valid concern. I totally understand. At times as I have watched my son quickly flit between apps on my iPad, I have … [Read more...]
Five Things Parents Can Do to Protect Their Child’s Eyesight in the Digital Age
There's little doubt that children’s digital media use is impacting their eye health. Whilst we do not yet have any confirmed research, it seems highly plausible that we may be compromising children’s eyesight, as we expose children to screens and gadgets at an earlier age and for … [Read more...]
Does Technology REALLY Cause Attention Problems?
Parents and teachers often worry that increasing technology use is impacting adversely on today's children's attention spans. Is this a valid concern or are parents and teachers worrying unnecessarily? A recent study from the Common Sense Media reported how today's American teachers are concerned … [Read more...]
Book Apps: Bad or Brilliant?
A recent study revealed that 54% of US children aged 2 to 13years are reading e-books of some description (on iPads, iPhones, Kindles, Android tablets). It is likely that similar statistics would be found here in Australia too. As parents are increasingly using their iDevices with their children, we … [Read more...]
Guilt-Free TV: Essential Information for Parents
Despite the popularity of video games and more recently the advent of the iPad, TV viewing is still the main type of media that young children use. In Australia each household has an average of 2.2 TVs and children aged between 3 and 5 years watch more than 3 hours of TV/day on average. Therefore, … [Read more...]
How much screen time for children?
So how much screen time is appropriate for children? As a children’s technology researcher one of the most frequent questions I am asked by parents relates to ‘screen-time’, or what I refer to as ‘media-time’. Parents ask this question with trepidation, often fearful of my response. In this blog … [Read more...]
Best Book Apps for Children
There is no better gift you can give than a love of reading. So why not ‘gift’ apps as Christmas gifts? Not only are many book apps educational, but they are also quick and easy to ‘gift’. Plus, you will be sure that they are one gift that will be used, well after Christmas Day. For information on … [Read more...]