Manage The Balance Between Technology and Activity for Children
Children now spend an average of 7.5 hours per day plugged into some form of technology. While technology holds promise, there are perils associated with over usage of technology on child development, behavior and the ability to learn. There is an urgent need for parents, teachers and therapists to reflect on the recommendations for restricted technology use, particularly for young children.
Do
* become informed
* disconnect yourself to be available to your children
* reconnect by designating sacred time with your children
* enhance development, behavior and learning
* address perceptions of safety
Don't
* go cold turkey
* listen to naysayers who say, “the younger the exposure, the better”
* give handheld devices to children under 12 years of age
* let schools have control over technology use
* allow technology to replace you
Do
Do become informed
Technology overuse is related to child attention problems, poor academics, aggression, family conflict, impaired sleep, developmental delays, attachment disorders, impaired body image, obesity and early sexuality. The signs of technology addiction are tolerance, withdrawal, unintended use, persistent desire, time spent, displacement of other activities and continued use.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than one to two hours per day of combined technology use. Yet elementary children use on average 7.5 hours per day.
Do disconnect yourself to be available to your children
Children addicted to technology are likely to live in a high technology usage household. Consequently, parents need to determine how much technology is too much, set limits, and then model balancing technology use with other activities. Schools should sponsor a Tech Unplug week where classrooms compete to reduce technology use in home and school. Or have one day per week with no technology.
Do reconnect by designating sacred time with your children
The underlying causal factor for technology addiction is fear of human connection or “social anxiety.” This results from poor parent/child attachment formation. Parents and teachers might benefit from exploring past experiences of attachment with their own parents, and think about how this experience may have affected how they relate to their own child or students.
Designation of “sacred time” in the day with no technology (during meals, in the car, before bedtime and over holidays) is a first start toward reconnecting with your children.
Do enhance development, behavior and learning
Children need to rough and tumble play 2 to 3 hours per day. They should spend time connecting with their parents, teachers and other children to achieve optimal physical and mental health. Rough and tumble play promotes adequate sensory and motor development of the vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile and attachment systems needed for achieving literacy in printing, reading and math, as well as paying attention and learning.
Do address perceptions of safety
Parents’ perceptions of safety correlate with child time indoors in front of TV, internet, and video games. If a parent perceives the world as unsafe, that child will spend more time indoors using technology.
Fear of litigation in schools and communities has drastically changed playgrounds, making them boring and unchallenging for most children. Outdoor rough and tumble play is a biological need for children--and has been proven to significantly reduce problematic behaviors, aggression and attention deficit, as well as decrease depression and anxiety, and improve attention and learning.
Don't
Do not go cold turkey
Children with technology addictions have poorly developed skills in most other areas. Self-identity, social skill, relationship to nature and sense of spirit are often disconnected in children who overuse technology.
Drastic or sudden reduction in technology with a child who has an addiction will result in chaos at school and home as the child is now alienated from what has become his/her whole purpose and meaning for living. Help build performance skills by exposing children to alternate activities that are just the right challenge--not too hard and not too easy--to build skills.
Do not listen to naysayers who say, “the younger the exposure, the better”
Parents who overuse technology themselves tend to validate and support their addiction by foisting technology on young children. Explain that by ensuring your child receives adequate movement, touch, human connection and nature, and restricting technology use to the recommended 1 to 2 hours per day, you are ensuring kids have a sustainable and healthy future.
Do not give handheld devices to children under 12 years of age
Handheld devices are impossible for parents and teachers to monitor and manage. And they place children at risk for exploitation from online predators, pornography and violent media content.
Do not let schools have control over technology use
Many schools (without parental consent) are making the decision to provide technology for all children. Ask your school to provide you with research evidence regarding safety from radiation, as well as efficacy of technology to adequately teach a particular subject.
Do not allow technology to replace you
Parents and teachers are the most important people in a child’s life, and children have an immense amount to learn from you in a very short time. One of the most important life lessons is how to form and maintain functional relationships with friends, family, co-workers and partners.
Summary
As parents connect more and more to technology, they are disconnecting from their children with devastating consequences. Isolated, overstimulated, neglected and sedentary, sustainability of the new millennium child is now in question. Following this advice will help parents, teachers and therapists to manage the balance between technology and healthy activity. This will help ensure sustainable futures for all children.
No comments:
Post a Comment