By Casper A Labuschagne
The incredible technological advancement from an absence of airplanes in 1902 to landing on the moon in such a short time has led many parents, and particularly grandparents (who still remember the moon landing), to believe that technology will educate our children.
Please do not fall into this trap. Remember that all the brilliant minds that created this wonderful world we live in today had none of today's technology. In fact, their work led to its creation!
There were no computers to do flight simulations for the Wright brothers; they did their research the hard way: by building a wind tunnel to test their wing designs.
Einstein spent decades developing his theories, and he never watched television once during that time. He understood the value of developing the imagination when he said, "If you want your children to be brilliant, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be geniuses, read them more fairy tales."
The worst thing you can do is to let your small child watch television for any length of time. Health and behavior issues are among a number of reasons for this.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that children younger than two not watch television at all and that children older than two should watch no more than two hours of television daily.
A major study in the United Kingdom reports that young children who watch more than two hours of television a day nearly double their risk of developing asthma by the time they are teenagers.
Many parents believe that learning will occur by just presenting their children educational programs. Although children do gain some knowledge through watching educational programs on television, the benefits are limited without some sort of interaction. (The best method of interaction is you interacting with your child).
Educational computer games that require interaction are a much better option than television programs. Still, computer games cannot take the place of you, the parents, in stimulating development through such interaction as the following:
Reading colorfully illustrated fairy tales to your child
Encouraging your child to ask questions about the fairy tales
Asking your child questions about the fairy tales
Answering these questions at a level of communication that your child understands
Your personal computer, not television is your most valuable piece of modern technology. With the Internet, you can access some of the best educational material available. This material is not only of the highest quality, it is in most cases free for non-commercial use.
Conclusion
Do not rely on technology to educate your child, but use it for repetition in your child's developmentafter you first teach your child a specific skill. For example, use computer spelling or math programs to help your child practice adding and subtracting numbers only after you first teach your child about phonemes or how to add and subtract. Also, be careful when and how you introduce technology. Children do not develop at the same pace, so do not force any aspect of development. If you try to force your child into activities for which he or she is not ready, you will lose the fun aspect of the development and your efforts will be counterproductive.
Need more information? Casper Labuschagne invites you to grab a free MP3 audio report "The Role Of Parents In Early Childhood Development" from http://mypreschoolerssuccessguide.com/. It's yours free and gives you valuable information of how to lay the right educational foundation before your preschooler goes to Kindergarten.
The incredible technological advancement from an absence of airplanes in 1902 to landing on the moon in such a short time has led many parents, and particularly grandparents (who still remember the moon landing), to believe that technology will educate our children.
Please do not fall into this trap. Remember that all the brilliant minds that created this wonderful world we live in today had none of today's technology. In fact, their work led to its creation!
There were no computers to do flight simulations for the Wright brothers; they did their research the hard way: by building a wind tunnel to test their wing designs.
Einstein spent decades developing his theories, and he never watched television once during that time. He understood the value of developing the imagination when he said, "If you want your children to be brilliant, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be geniuses, read them more fairy tales."
The worst thing you can do is to let your small child watch television for any length of time. Health and behavior issues are among a number of reasons for this.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that children younger than two not watch television at all and that children older than two should watch no more than two hours of television daily.
A major study in the United Kingdom reports that young children who watch more than two hours of television a day nearly double their risk of developing asthma by the time they are teenagers.
Many parents believe that learning will occur by just presenting their children educational programs. Although children do gain some knowledge through watching educational programs on television, the benefits are limited without some sort of interaction. (The best method of interaction is you interacting with your child).
Educational computer games that require interaction are a much better option than television programs. Still, computer games cannot take the place of you, the parents, in stimulating development through such interaction as the following:
Reading colorfully illustrated fairy tales to your child
Encouraging your child to ask questions about the fairy tales
Asking your child questions about the fairy tales
Answering these questions at a level of communication that your child understands
Your personal computer, not television is your most valuable piece of modern technology. With the Internet, you can access some of the best educational material available. This material is not only of the highest quality, it is in most cases free for non-commercial use.
Conclusion
Do not rely on technology to educate your child, but use it for repetition in your child's developmentafter you first teach your child a specific skill. For example, use computer spelling or math programs to help your child practice adding and subtracting numbers only after you first teach your child about phonemes or how to add and subtract. Also, be careful when and how you introduce technology. Children do not develop at the same pace, so do not force any aspect of development. If you try to force your child into activities for which he or she is not ready, you will lose the fun aspect of the development and your efforts will be counterproductive.
Need more information? Casper Labuschagne invites you to grab a free MP3 audio report "The Role Of Parents In Early Childhood Development" from http://mypreschoolerssuccessguide.com/. It's yours free and gives you valuable information of how to lay the right educational foundation before your preschooler goes to Kindergarten.
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