WHETHER texting, surfing the web or playing video games, research shows that kids between the ages of eight and 18 spend more than seven hours a day with gadgets.
"That, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad," says Dr. Richard Bavaria, senior vice-president for education outreach for Sylvan Learning.
"Balance, as in every other aspect of life, is key. A variety of helpful resources have made technology an integral part of our lives and how we learn. While technology has introduced many portals of enhanced learning, it can also be a distraction in kids' lives - offering kids easy ways to get sidetracked, diverted and overwhelmed."
I noted this comment in a news release from Sylvan along with some good ideas for technology use.
If you have children, odds are you are struggling to figure out when kids should use technology, how to control it and when it's appropriate and when not.
My first reminder is that research has shown us that babies and toddlers do not gain any benefit from screen time. They learn by manipulating the objects in their environment. They need to touch, taste, smell and handle things in order to learn. Screens do not give them this opportunity. While it's cute and interesting to watch little ones comfortably handle an iPad, it's simply not appropriate. Their growth and development will flourish with blocks, cardboard boxes and time with their parents.
Somehow, we've all been flummoxed by technology. We can't imagine leaving the room, let alone the house without our phone. We check our email first thing in the morning and last thing at night. If we want our kids to learn to balance the amount of screen time they use in a day, we need to model it. Determine when and where screen-time is acceptable. For example, don't permit screens at the dinner table. This will only work if you follow the same rules. So everyone, turn off your phones, iPods and tablets when you come to the table.
In other words, be a role model. You're a role model in everything you do and say as a parent, including using technology. Let the kids see you using your computer, phone and other devices to make your life easier, more efficient, and more fun. Show how you're in control of it, not the other way around. Whatever the rules are for your kids, follow the same rules yourself. So no screens at the dinner table applies to everyone.
It's a good idea to have computers in a central location such as the family room. When they are in the kid's bedroom, they are hard for the child to ignore. The mobile technology needs to be put away at night. Have the kids turn off the phone or tablet and it goes in a drawer until morning.
Just like you do for television, set time limits. Maybe you determine that for your teens, it's two hours of screen time per day, including schoolwork. For elementary schoolers, it's less. Decide what will work best for your family.
Stress common sense. It is good sense not to allow downloading or uploading - music, movies, or photos for instance - without your permission. Show kids how their online words and pictures are, for all intents and purposes, permanent. Just as we watch what we say in our speech, we need to do the same thing online.
School work comes first. When they are online, they need to first spend any time they need on homework and school projects. Then they can play games.
Stress privacy. Explain to your children why you won't permit them to give out personal information about themselves or their family, to meet with strangers they've "met" online, or to spend money online. Just be realistic and firm.
Technology is here to stay and bring huge benefits to our children and to us. They can research any topic that grabs their attention, they can easily communicate with relatives from far away and they can have fun with a myriad of games. It's just a question of ensuring that you control the technology, not the other way around.
Kathy Lynn is a parenting expert who is a professional speaker and author of Who's In Charge Anyway? and But Nobody Told Me I'd Ever Have to Leave Home. If you want to read more, sign up for her informational newsletter at www.parentingtoday.ca.
