Tag: E-Reading

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Digital

16 Stories About #DigitalParenting, 26/12/13

Keeping track of a number of stories relating to ‘Raising Children in a Digital Age‘ in the news:

  • mhAILfwSanta in the Digital Age: Will He Survive?: I’m not saying that Santa is a bad thing (clearly I don’t think so), but he is a myth. And when kids are getting connected to the Internet at younger and younger ages, how long until the fabrication is impossible to keep going? How long until a YouTube video ruins the fun for hundreds of thousands of “connected” kids?
  • Introducing the Digital Dad: But other than being a digital enthusiast, I’m also a realist and the digital revolution is here to stay. Two thirds of UK 12- to 15-year-olds now have a smartphone, according to the latest Ofcom report – up 50% from the year before. Parents, if you haven’t already, you might as well join the online party.
  • How the Grinch Steals Christmas: He Follows Your Kid on Instagram: In Dr. Seuss’ timeless tale, the Grinch had to wait until all of Whoville was asleep, tie his dog to a sled and slink down a few too-tight chimneys in order to steal Christmas from the Whos. In 2013, all a savvy criminal needs to do is follow your kids on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine, Foursquare, Google+ and/or Snapchat to figure out when the coast is clear.
  • What Nonverbal Kids Can Gain From Technology: Many parents and teachers of children with special needs wonder if using technology to communicate is a good idea, or if it will stifle and get in the way of oral speech production. I’m asked this question almost every day in the office — I can feel their worry, I know their concerns. It’s a really good question that needs a full answer.
  • Do You Model Unhealthy Tech Habits?: From generation to generation, we teach our kids healthy habits. Eat right. Exercise. Brush your teeth. But when it comes to your technology habit, you could be setting a bad example — without even knowing it.
  • The Amazing iKid: My generation was the last to have had a childhood without a mobile phone. I got my first cell phone in my early twenties, and it was an archaic experience in comparison to today’s technology — no Internet, camera, Facebook, apps or texting, and it was just small enough to fit in my backpack. But I am grateful not to have been exposed to the seduction of the smartphone as a kid. I am sure I would have been just as tempted by it then as I am now. I am co-dependent with my mini-machine, and feel more lost if I leave the house without my phone than if I had forgotten to put on pants. It makes me wonder what is it like for these iKids growing up with endless access and distraction in the palm of their hands.
  • Holiday to-do list: Unplug with your children: While it’s fun to connect with family via social media, movies, and games — and believe me, there will be plenty of that going on anyway — it’s great to unplug for a while and enjoy some old-fashioned analog time together. You know, make eye contact, listen to each other’s voices, and engage in the physical world.
  • New Report Proves That Young People and Their Gadgets Can Co-Exist in the Great Outdoors: A new National Wildlife Federation report explores the positive benefits of technology and outdoor exploration. Friending Fresh Air: Connecting Kids to Nature in the Digital Age details how kids’ media habits can both positively and negatively impact health, learning and social development.

  • Babes in a Digital Toyland: Even 3-Year-Olds Get Gadgets: A recent survey of 1,000 parents with children between 2 and 10 found that more than half planned to buy a tech item for their children this holiday season. About two-thirds of those planned to give a tablet or smartphone, according to the survey, which was taken for PBS Kids, the brand of the public broadcasting network aimed at young children.

  • New York school all-in on all-digital textbooks: “We went to digital because it makes for better learning,” says Frank Portanova, vice principal at Stepinac. “This is the way kids learn today. And the online content is a lot richer. You’ve got assessments, you’ve got virtual labs, you’ve got blogging.”

  • Am I Crazy to Give My Tween a Cell Phone?: We have finally decided to give my old iPhone to our 11-year-old for Christmas, and I’m already concerned that this may end up being a big mistake. Quite a few of his classmates have a cell phone and he has been begging for one. I want to make him happy but I am worried that it may cause endless arguments. Am I crazy for giving him an iPhone?

  • 4 tips to disconnect from technology, reconnect your family: Rising to the challenge of parenting digital natives – a term commonly used to describe a generation of children who have never known a world without digital technologies – means that we have some important work to do. As a crucial first step, we need to both familiarize ourselves and keep up with technology. After all, the responsibility falls squarely on us to help our children learn good judgment and how to responsibly navigate the rapidly changing digital world.

  • Ella’s Kitchen targets tech savvy parents with digital weaning guide created by Delete: Previously Ella’s Kitchen had sent customers who signed up to be friends of the brand a printed guide to the weaning process. However, with its target audience increasingly demanding information on-the-go Ella’s Kitchen decided to make its guide fully digital and available for use on mobile, tablet and desktop.

  • Breaking the digital habit: Whenever I enter a restaurant, I’m presented with the sight of diners who, having ordered their dishes, are now hunched in the same position – heads bowed as they immerse themselves in their smartphones or pads. While the death of the art of pre-dinner chitchat at the hands of our electronic companions may be a blessing as well as a curse, depending on the dinner company you keep, more worrying is the increasing amount of time our children spend bewitched by these digital devices. (This is a BEHAVIOURAL problem, right?) 

  • Parents buying tablets for children urged to look out for hidden costs: The regulator urged parents to talk to their children about the costs involved in using mobile devices and tablets, and issued tips for consumers to help them avoid nasty surprises. These include looking at the small print when downloading apps and ensuring you know how to unsubscribe from any paid-for service.

and an interesting story about teaching your children to fail, questioning whether time with Dad has to be video time, whilst in the US/Canada children could receive a personalised message from Santa.

Categories
Digital

11 Stories About #DigitalParenting 17/12/13

Keeping track of a number of stories relating to ‘Raising Children in a Digital Age‘ in the news… and I love this piece about a ‘tech-deprived childhood‘:

News on digital tablet.

  • Link between cyberbullying and teen suicides oversimplified, experts say: One of the threads tying their deaths together is a cause-and-effect link made by the media, politicians and parents between persistent bullying and the victim’s decision to end their life — a phenomenon that generated its own buzzword — “bullycide.” It is something Todd and health experts say oversimplifies teen suicide and cyberbullying at the expense of recognizing the complex set of mental health issues that are usually at play in many cases. (In another article, teens speak out) 
  • Left to Chance With the iPotty: Snarkiness aside, I think we need to reflect loudly about how we make choices as parents and consumers. Corporate America and big box retailers may not have your back in this regard. As these baby human beings’ brains are rapidly making connections (young children make 700 synapses [connections between brain cells] per second during birth to 2 years), they are simply learning how to think. Do you really want the iPad doing the instructing?
  • I Might Be Mediocre, But at Least I’m Honest: So why is it that we parents feel the need to hide our realities from the world, especially social media? Check any mom’s Instagram or Facebook feed, including my own, and it looks like we are running a regular Montessori. The kids are smiling and sun-kissed. There’s paint and Legos and fresh fruit dripping from their chins.
  • Why You Need to Get Involved in Your Child’s Digital Life: Responsible parental screening of a child’s behavior has always been a good idea. But in today’s age of increasingly advanced technology, parents face unique challenges. While there certainly are advantages to instant access of virtually any kind of information, there are also formidable risks associated with our digital age that can be quite damaging to kids if parents don’t exercise appropriate levels of control. Put another way — damage can be done if parents don’t do their job.
  • Weston man faces child porn charges: Microsoft regularly uses automated scanning tools to monitor photos and other content uploaded to SkyDrive to ensure that users’ accounts do not contain illegal files, according to the company’s website. Suspected child pornography is automatically reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  • Tarter: Author touts printed page in the digital age: The author also suggests that e-books have their place. “The e-book is here to stay,” he says, pointing to savings in time, space, trees and student spines (replacing heavy textbooks). But Trelease isn’t afraid to point to shortcomings in new technology, as well. “Research clearly shows that we read more slowly (6 to 11 percent) from a screen than from paper,” he said.
  • 7 Practical Tips for Parenting Digital Natives: “What are your recommendations for balancing technology use with socializing face-to-face?” This question was directed to a panel of psychologists at our recent high school PTA meeting. A universal parenting dilemma in our social media landscape, if ever one existed post-1999.
  • Drawp: Imaginations Soar With Inventive Art App For Kids: With this release, Drawp is launching a collaboration with talented artists from around the world who will create coloring pages exclusively for the Drawp app. The objective is to provide children with a constant stream of high quality art and to expose them to different styles in order to stimulate their creativity.
  • Europe Children Between 4 and 12 Spend Almost 3 Hours a Day in Front of TV: Children watch, passively, television, computers, mobile phones or ipads. Given this reality, a team of British pediatricians asserts in a research released in the medical journal “Archives of Disease in Childhood” that children under three should not be in contact with so many digital displays. For kids between 3 and 16, they suggest that a maximum of two hours a day should be set. The experts argue that spending more time in front of screens can cause damage to the physical and cognitive growth of children and overweight, heart problems, attention deficit or lack of empathy.
  • Internet a safe place for those who play safe: “Although the majority of kids are doing good things there is still a small percentage of people doing bad things and those predators are the people we need to protect our children from.”
  • iPad holder seat for babies sparks outcry: An advocacy group has called on toy maker Fisher-Price to stop selling a baby seat designed to hold an iPad at the front, saying the product encourages parents to leave infants alone to watch screens that could be harmful.

and BT offers a parental control filter, a Mum talks about finding another mum of a child with a rare condition, whilst programmes in New Zealand seek to diminish the ‘digital divide’.