According to some toy industry experts, more than 75 percent of toys for kids now include some level of electronics, yet few concrete studies exist on the effect that high tech toys may be having on children. Some argue that tech toys stifle imagination while others claim that gadgets give kids a head start in an increasingly wired world. Check out these arguments from both sides of the line to make your own parenting judgment.
Quality vs. Quantity
Image via Flickr by Leonid Mamchenkov
From bird-flinging apps to word-spelling programs, countless games are available for kids. Some technology opponents argue that high tech games are designed to zone kids out for hours without providing actual benefits. While this may be true for games like Angry Birds, many games provide true educational perks like helping kids learn to spell and read.
Since striking a balance between quality and quantity can be difficult for parents who allow their kids to use high tech gadgets, experts say that a limit on which games young kids are allowed to play and for how long is essential. This balance is especially important since games for small children are often gateways for advanced gaming systems as kids grow.
Isolation vs. Interaction
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Do high tech toys promote isolation or interaction? Opponents argue that gadgets encourage kids to focus solely on the game in hand and discourage interaction with others. While this may be the case in some situations, technology advocates claim that high tech toys are no more isolating than books or other toys. How parents allow their kids to use them is the difference.
For example, parents can sit their kids in a corner to play handheld video games alone all day or they buy gadgets from shopping sites online and then play educational games on those gadgets with their children. Suddenly, high tech toys become group activities with questions, laughter and interaction dominating the gadget’s use.
Parenting Cop-outs vs. Strategic Use
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Parents who quiet their screaming kids with smartphones and handheld gaming systems aren’t doing their jobs. At least that’s the claim of some technology naysayers who argue that rewarding misbehaved children with games only encourages continued bad behavior. On the other hand, rewarding well-behaved kids with a certain amount of game time on smartphones may help them learn that good things can happen when the rules are followed.
Increased Early Learning vs. Obesity
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Even if many high tech toys encourage early learning, these gadgets also encourage increased childhood obesity, argue opponents. Children who sit inside playing games for hours are naturally more likely to be overweight versus kids who are outside playing with friends. Yet, the link between obesity and technology isn’t the fault of high tech toys. Rather it’s a combination of factors including household eating habits, gaming time limits and family fitness habits.
As technology continues to play an increasingly dominant role in today’s wired world, arguments will continue developing both for and against the use of gadgets by kids. Perhaps the answer is that technology isn’t inherently good or bad, it’s what you do with it that matters.
Guest post by Amanda Brown
Girl on Fire
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