Kids and today’s technology

Technology invades every aspect of daily life for today’s typical kids, from the moment they wake to cell phone alarms until they fall asleep to tunes on their iPods. Unlike their TV-age parents, tweens and teens cannot imagine life without instant access to everything from online entertainment to merchandise to other people.
Parenting, however, has become a bigger challenge in this age of instant gratification, with the generation gap a huge crater separating parents from children.
It does not have to be this way. The same technology that surrounds kids can be used to help educate and socialize them.
“Technology and its privileges can pose a deterrent to raising healthy kids, but also can be a great asset to parents if they take good advantage of all the new world has to offer,” observes Dr. Michael Osit, a clinical psychologist and author of the new book, Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything (AMACOM Books).
“Today’s kids are poised to become the best informed, most literate generation ever. This opportunity largely is contingent on their parents’ ability to understand new technologies and monitor a myriad of influences,” stresses Osit, who is a father of three.
Here are several tips from the new book Generation Text on how to use technology to educate and socialize children:
Make technology available and demonstrate appropriate use. The family computer belongs in an easily accessible, easily monitored room. Equip it with hardware and software conducive to learning: a word processing program, a multimedia presentation program and an audio mixer with an external microphone. Guide children on performing Internet searches and using tools, from Spellchecker to PowerPoint.
Choose software that helps your child grow cognitively and socially. Ask your child’s teacher for recommendations. Read online reviews on such sites as Superkids.com and talk to other parents. When selecting video games, look for values consistent with your own and sensitivity to cultural, gender, racial and ethnic diversity. Pay attention to violence, stereotyping and lack of respect for authority, whether the game is for a second grader or a teenager.
Network and play with your child. Pull up a chair next to the computer and offer to help with homework. Challenge your child to a Nintendo Wii game. Encourage kids to join social networking sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com, with proper monitoring.
Develop a mastery of technology. Kids, especially teenagers, often consider parents clueless. By mastering technology you’ll gain credibility. Then, you and your child can pool tech skills and work as a team.
Boost self-esteem. Many kids are satisfied with efforts they consider “good enough.” Use technology to motivate children to improve average assignments for rewards of excellent grades and positive feedback. Also recognize what moving up to the next level in video games means to a child and praise these accomplishments.
Reinforce a work ethic. Children’s cherished gadgets can be used to teach them to care for, appreciate and maintain their possessions. Teach responsibility by refusing to unconditionally replace lost cell phones or video game controllers.
Use technology to compensate for weaknesses. Kids with fine motor problems can learn efficient keyboarding so their written work is printed. Shy kids can feel more socially confident using text messaging, instant messaging and e-mail. Skillful gamers can display prowess to other kids when they are not athletically inclined.
- Courtesy of StatePoint Media