Educate in technology: children in front of screens
The children of 3, 4 and 5 years must learn to manage the computer at the hands of their parents, but it is not advisable to leave them alone at any time. They need to feel that we share this leisure mode with them. It is highly recommended to spend time at the computer, playing video games or surfing the Internet, as we will later go on a field trip or go out for a snack.
Spend time with your children in front of the computer
Regarding the time that the child is in front of the computer, it will depend on the activity that he / she performs: if he / she demands a lot of action, it is very interactive, it should not be more than half an hour. It depends for us to put the child before the computer: fordevelop a mathematical concept, to start you in reading and writing, a fun time, etc. For example, a game is not the same where you have to shoot the "ace" and not the rest of the vowels, to another where you have to join the lowercase "a" with the capital "a", which will require much less action. It depends on the rhythm of the game and the activity you have to do.
The more pace the game involves, the less time it must be before the electronic device, because it may end up psychologically exhausted. It is the same with video games that require a lot of action, very focused attention and little reflection, this type of games It is not advisable to play more than half an hour in a row. With the games of strategy, of thinking, of elaborating intellectual concepts, you can stay longer, until the game is finished. If the child has a tendency to epilepsy is not good to play with applications that stimulate a lot, because it can trigger an attack.
Negative aspects of the use of electronic devices
But not all are good, because excessive or inappropriate use can affect negative aspects of the child's health. For example, A lot of time before the computer can damage the sight of your child, as well as being too close to the screen, a very normal trend in children who tend to approach everything they can to the images.
Likewise, we must also educate him in the computer posture, taking care of this aspect of your health: the chair must be at the right height (if you do not have it, you can use the chair or highchair we use to eat). You can not get used to working in a forced posture (kneeling in the chair, p.e.), especially if it's going to be a long time.
In addition, it is necessary to encourage a varied leisure, that is not only a digital leisure, that has other activities, because one of the errors is that as the child gets hooked, we have it all afternoon.
At present, the computer is replacing the paper that had the television. It can fall more easily because the child is with an active attitude and before television is passive. We think it is something beneficial because it does things, is applying, looking for answers, without assessing the negative part. If our son gets used to being many hours in front of the computer, we instill a disorder in his leisure.
The advantage of the laptop and the tablet
When deciding on a desktop computer or a laptop we can not assess just the price, because they are currently almost equated. If we decide on the desktop computer is not advisable to be in the child's room, because you create a habit and in these ages is very important to instill good habits.
From the educational point of view, the best thing is the laptop or the tablet because it is a way to match it to another device in the house, such as the vacuum cleaner, which is stored and removed when it has to be used. If someone needs to do a job, the laptop is taken out, taken to his room at that time and the work is done. In the classroom, its use is not recommended because it competes with many things, including television, radio, a view, etc. There is not enough tranquility to use it.
Marisol Nuevo Espín
Advice: María Zalbidea, author of the blog Sewing the digital divide
