Now you must be thinking, ‘But technology is meant to only ruin my child’s cognition, isn’t it?
‘It deteriorates their attention span and limits their physical activity. And then we shouldn’t forget about the increase in aggression and apathy that comes with technology.’
Before you start discrediting this technology news for kids, let me explain.
Yes, technology messes up with our children’s brains big time. But it only does so when we allow it. When we manage our children’s use of technology mindfully, they only have benefits to earn.
Here are a few benefits which our children can gain by using technology in a balanced manner:
- Socio-Emotional Development
Believe it or not, technological interactions foster emotional development in more varied ways than real-life interactions. This is especially true for introverted children or children with social anxiety.
When these children build trust through written or spoken words without relying on facial expression, they can be more comfortable with face-to-face interactions in the latter stages of friendship or teacher-child relationship.
- Developing Tolerance
Technology brings enhanced exposure to information and vision. Our children come to know different worlds and cultures while also knowing that these worlds exist in some part of the planet.
They envision life beyond what they are used to. They feel the emotions and cognition of these people and empathize with them.
In turn, they learn to accept, respect and tolerate.
- Customizable Learning
There are three primary types of learners: auditory, visual, and physical. Children usually combine these different styles of learning rather than attention to one of these styles.
Technology usually combines all these styles of learning. And that’s not all! The customizability of technology makes it possible for learners to take one of these stimuli more often than other types. Consequently, physical learners would pay attention to visual or verbal stimulus once or twice but remain engaged in active learning through technology for a long time leading to a complete grip over the subject matter.
- Fosters Motor Skills
The use of a mouse, touchpad, and keyboard, contributes towards the healthy development of gross as well as fine motor skills of young learners. Our children also learn to coordinate eyes and hands to reach their target on the screen.
If they are playing interactive games on the computer, they are even better off as these games encourage children to use the keys more often.
- Growing Problem Solving Skills
If we are giving the right stimulus to our children in the form of adequate, age-appropriate, and skill-oriented learning games; technology becomes a blessing for them. There are hundreds and thousands of digital resources which focus on passive learning of children and adults. This passive learning is the source of decreasing cognitive abilities in children.
If we want to partner with technology on our parenting and education tasks, we have to mindfully select the media to which our children are exposed.
Interactive games are one channel that prompts our children to take action and be analytical about any problem they encounter. These games focus on different domains varying from building cognition to growing attention to fostering physical activity.
The best thing is how playfully they engage our children in desired mental or physical activities.
- Fostering Self-sufficiency
You don’t want to be a helicopter parent, do you?
For those parents who want to present their children with the gift of independence, technology comes as their biggest pal.
Once you have defined the learning route in the digital devices of your children and established an understanding of safe online behavior among your children, you are now free to rely on the internet to teach them complex concepts of STEM, history, ethics, and life. You can also rely on them to learn political, regional, celebrity, or technology news for kids without your active input.
- Securing Futures
Technological literacy is the key to economic growth today. The same situation will persist in coming years and decades.
Introducing technology and allowing your children to develop a healthy relationship with it translates into future adults who can balance their virtual and real lives. Healthy technology use in childhood will nurture children who would befriend these devices to create a living while also knowing where its impact should end.
Takeaway
Are you guilty of keeping your children busy with technology? Well, this article won’t help you with that guilt.
But if you are mindful and are only allowing technology in your home for learning and recreational purposes – there is a difference between using technology as a pass-time and using it for recreation – you are up to gain numerous benefits from it.
And don’t worry, social and emotional development are included in the list of benefits your children can gain from technology.
