<\/p>\n
You’ll have noticed that THE present for children this year was…. a tablet.<\/p>\n
From LeapFrog’s LeapPad and VTech’s Innotab\u00a0 to Asus’ Nexus 7 and Apple’s iPad mini, tablets are everywhere, loaded with educational apps and games to keep children amused. So what are the pros and cons of tablets for tots?<\/p>\n
+1 They’re ultra portable<\/p>\n
Books, DVDs, CDs, card games, pens and paper. Leave them all at home, there’s an app that will so it for you. You can also access media content legally for much less than the book or DVD would cost and easily pop on something for you too.<\/p>\n
+1 They’re intuitive<\/p>\n
Even children as young as 1 can get their heads around touch screen technology. Unlike traditional PC based educational games tablet apps are easy to get to grips with.<\/p>\n
+ They promote hand eye coordination and fine motor skills, literacy and mathematical ability<\/p>\n
Children have to learn to control their hands and fingers to use a tablet, and some games encourage matching, sorting and counting skills,\u00a0 shape, number and letter recognition, and phonics, as well as making a variety of e-books easily accessible.<\/p>\n
+ They grow and evolve with the child<\/p>\n
Leapfrog and Vtech etc aside adults can get as much use out of tablets as children and teens. The sheer number of apps is staggering and a new tablet now should, barring breakages, provide entertainment for years that can vary according the child’s tastes.<\/p>\n
-1 They stifle the imagination<\/p>\n
There are some good, creative drawing and music apps out there but it’s no substitute for the opportunities real art materials or musical instruments give you. There’s also no scope to put a lion on Old MacDonald’s farm or adapt what the wheels on the bus do if you’re just listening to a recorded version.<\/p>\n
-1 They’re fragile<\/p>\n
Most tablets aren’t hugely robust, even when they come encased in rubber, and older children will probably want a 7-inch adult tablet anyway. Young children can’t appreciate that their new toy is a complex electronic device to be treated with care and even with the best will in the world a older child may accidentally drop it.<\/p>\n
-1 They’re sedentary activities<\/p>\n
You don’t move much when you’re using a tablet and it’s certainly no substitute for running around outside. Repetitive use of one hand could also lead to RSI, especially as the way children use touch screen technology when they’re young will set them up for how they use it in later life and it’s not going away.<\/p>\n
-1 Children can access the Internet unsupervised or run up a bill buying apps<\/p>\n
Most tablets aimed at the children’s market incorporate parental control but if you accidentally leave that off and your iTunes or Android marketplace account logged it’s scarily easy and fast for a child to run up a bill. Most free apps include a quick link to the full version and an imprudent tap or two could be pricy.<\/p>\n
-1 They’re addictive<\/p>\n
You know those adults who always have some kind of electronic device in their hand? Chances are they’re addicted. The brain quickly becomes dependent on the instant gratification a smartphone can provide and this can also less to problems with concentration later on. Children are especially vulnerable because their brains are still very plastic, which means new habits can form easily.
\nOur verdict:<\/p>\n
Handle with care, both literally and figuratively! While they might keep children occupied for hours, you should also make time for activities away from the tablet, even if you’re essentially doing the same thing. If you’re a childcarer make sure to communicate with the parents about appropriate usage and stick to their rules.\u00a0 Consider limiting use to specific locations or certain times of day to ensure that it isn’t overused and always double check the content and parental controls on a standard tablet. Finally, remember an interactive tablet is no substitute for an interactive adult!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You’ll have noticed that THE present for children this year was…. a tablet. From LeapFrog’s LeapPad and VTech’s Innotab슠 to Asus’ Nexus 7 and Apple’s iPad mini, tablets are everywhere, loaded with educational apps and games to keep children amused. So what are the pros and cons of tablets for tots? +1 They’re ultra portable … Continue reading “Tablets for tots”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6,8,16,19],"tags":[26,89,96,146,299,378,409,434],"class_list":["post-417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-babysitters","category-childcare","category-childminders","category-education","category-nannies","category-parents","tag-activities","tag-childcare","tag-childminder","tag-education","tag-nanny","tag-parents","tag-rainy-day","tag-screen-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}