Children and the good side of technology – Practical advices

As a parent, you are surely concerned about the development of your children in a society highly dependent from technology and you might feel about technology as dangerous and harmful to the emotional and physical health of your child. But, if used properly, it turns into their best assistant. Below we’re going to list the benefits that they could get through the ethical use of technology and how can you guide your child towards this path.

Technology is a source of knowledge

Today, the biggest knowledge library in the world is online and accessible from anyone, anywhere. The best way to turn technology into a benefit to the children is to encourage them to use the internet as the means to develop their knowledge in different fields that appeal most to them (animals, dinosaurs, volcanoes, oceans, the Solar System etc.) through articles and different educational videos.

Helps them socialize

Some parents have decided to keep children isolated from any digital device, and their concerns are legitimate; at SmartKids, being partisans of finding “the golden mean” or a better balance, we believe that total isolation from technology is just as harmful as unsupervised access to it. For every parent, socializing for their children is an important aspect, and just like adults, children too choose to approach children with whom they share similarities or common interests. One of the bad side-effects of total isolation from technology is that children will feel excluded from groups where other peers discuss about games or other topics by making use of digital devices and communicating with each-other in distance.

Communities with common interests

Latest trends show that the best way to integrate in the society children who are interested in technology, is to create community groups with common interests; a lot of new communities are being created in the meanwhile, such as the gaming community “GameJam Tirana”, where experts in the respective fields gather talented children or young adults interested in building games and there they find the needed motivation, peers with the same interests and together they’re able to build games that can be distributed all around the world! By being exposed to successful professionals or older peers, they see the true benefits of the said fields and they get motivated to choose to use technology always for their own career gains.

It’s truly entertaining

According to a child, what is the main reason for using a computer or a tablet? Obviously, it’s to play games. Even though most of us consider computer or mobile games as “public enemy number one” for the psychological health of children, in fact games are a good way for children to socialize, but it doesn’t end there. Games help develop their critical and analytical thinking, improve their reaction times, stimulate creativity, concentration and memory. Of course, not all games are appropriate for them and parents should be wary of what games they should allow for them to play. We suggest a number of games that are stimulating to the brain, develop reflexes and are educational.

It’s beneficial

When we talk about technology, our minds unconsciously think about social media or other internet sites. Fortunately, technology is not all about that. You as parents can teach your children to use the good side of technology, starting from the smartphone. We suggest you start the teachings from the basics such as how to call relatives, no matter their ages, so that they consider smartphone first as a communication tool. Teach them about other useful apps, such as the map, camera, calculator, compass, timer, alarm and the calendar.

Conclusions

The positive effects that technology provides towards the development of the children cannot just be ignored. Starting from the improvement of education, all the way to the different entertaining alternatives that it offers, it becomes a powerful tool that has a huge impact on everyone’s life. As such, parents and teachers alike should embrace technology and learn to use it in the best ethical way so that we help children’s development.