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Exposing Children to Technology?
LabelThis asks: "While I'm not a huge fan of immersing children in technology, there is a certain point at which you must expose them to the tools that will help them be successful in the world. Looking back, I distinctly remember my parents making every effort to provide a computer for me and my sibling, early on (they bought an Atari 400 for us when I was 5). Either by accident or on purpose, that single decision (and the continued follow up of purchasing newer computers as needed) shaped my future and the future of my siblings. I now have a daughter, and my wife and I have a number of years to before we worry about equipping her with technology (right now spending time with her and helping her be a happy well adjusted toddler are our primary concerns). In the spirit of my parents choice, what type of tools should parents be equipping their children with, today?"
with or without tech, that away they wont be screwed if they dont have their favorite tech, but make sure they are plenty exposed to tech so they arent screwed in the job market later in life...
in my opinion, definately not the internet. it's not long before they/their friends start getting into AIM and things like that. before you know it, when they're still really small, they'll probably end up loading the computer with spyware and they might even have a myspace or something...teach em how to use a computer, but don't give em the internet until they're older and seem somewhat more responsible.
My parents gave me plastic bags when I was very young. I expecially liked the full-body dry cleaning ones. For my 4th birthday they game me an old refrigerator with a locking door. I loved it.
Trolling is a art,
If you mean "computers" say so. "Technology" is not a synonym for "computers". Hint: cooking is technology.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
As the child gets older, and shows an aptitude for Technology, I would suggest some simple electronics project kits that are suitable for their age, and appeal to their interests.
There are a number of kit manufactures, such as Ramsey Electronics and Velleman which make kits of all types and skill levels. Some of my fondest memories are of having my Dad help me build something. As I got older, I spent my allowance on kits.
Today, I work in a radio station as a Broadcast Engineer. Computers and IT are important, naturally, but if a child shows interest in what's "under the hood", they will have an advantage over their peers who only see the computer as a "box" that runs programs.
Willie...
I first witnessed computer programming when I was 6 - A half brother coded a drawing program for me while I watched. 2 years later, I started taking my old 321 Contacts (GREAT magazine) and programming the Qbasic programs and games, and then modifying them.
It just went up from there. If you can find a good magazine or something for kids that introduces them to programming, DO IT!
"Better to be vulgar than non-existent" -Bev Henson
what type of tools should parents be equipping their children with, today?
Pencils, pens, paper. Printed books--good, old, classic books. They'll learn computers and all that--you can hardly do anything these days without using one. What they need are the basic skills they won't get through computers, and that is accomplished through reading good ol' books and writing.
A PC, networked but no internet, virtual CD (no scratched disks around here), lots of world-building games (Age of Empires, Sims, etc). An LCD screen instead of CRT. Print-to-PDF instead of direct to printer, so we can cancel 99 full colour pages of Pikachu and just print one.
My kids spend time on their computers, but they spend a lot more time playing in the garden. They make their own dolls furniture (wood, nails, paint), miniature food (clay & paint), etc etc. The eldest taught herself to ride the unicycle. What I'm getting at is that they're not mindless blobs slaved to their PCs 24/7 - yes, they sometimes get heavily involved in a game and will play it in their spare time over 2 or 3 days, but then they'll avoid the computer for a week and do something else.
The youngest is now 8 years old and produces her own digital art and newsletters, the eldest (11 yo) types up stories and homework. Both use an mp3 player on their computers, and because the music available to them is all my own favourites (mostly 70's and 80's), it's very interesting to see their tastes via their playlists. They're not exposed to modern rubbish on the radio, so I'm probably warping their minds and putting them forever out of touch with their friends.
Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
Get the kid a real hardcore synth -- the kind that uses envelopes, oscillators, and filters etc with MIDI ports to boot. Got one in middle school and it taught me more about my major (EE) than you could possibly imagine...
Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb...
One good way to teach critical thinking is to practise it with your child. Ask them questions about how media, especially advertising, makes them feel. Point out to them the tactics that media purveyors use to produce emotional responce.
As your child matures, involve them in your political, economic, and spiritual life. Take them to a political protest and explain why. Engage them in charity and volunteering, perhaps at a local food bank. They will learn humility and also see what it is like to be less prosperous.
It is important for a child to know how to properly express themselves. One great way to teach is to practise it yourself. Take your time when choosing words and sentences, and always be honest.
Morals help us to act rightly, even when no one is watching. The internet provides a great deal of annonymity, and a strong moral sense serves as compass and shield.
...a few suggestions from someone who doesn't have it all right, but gets closer every day...
could it be?
As far as tech goes they'll be inundated from their earliest days although I'd work with them in bits :) and words to ensure they have a conceptual grasp of the how it is that computers work. Too often in education an assumption is made that everyone gets the basics then students are shunted up the ladder where often they can't grasp concepts because the basics learned by rote weren't fundamentaly understood.
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
is you. Your time, your attention, and your approval. You appear to know all of that, but sometimes we get caught up in being good little consumers and buying "tools" when we should be focusing on the tool wielder.
With kids aged 18, 15, and 14 I have some experience in this. I can view with 20/20 hindsight the mistakes I made and the triumphs, such as they were. Without exception my failures have involved taking my eyes off of them for just a little while.
Play with them. Make them earn everything but love (and what you're required by law to give them). Don't be afraid to punish bad behavior. Don't reward tantrums, whining, or other manipulation, but do reward reasoned persistence.
Reward honesty, so much that if the has a "cherry tree" moment, give praise and forget the misdeed. Punish dishonesty in every form.
Punishment should fit the misdeed, and should be designed to benefit the family in the long run. Reserve corporal punishment for "you ain't the boss of me!". It will come. Whack 'em. They'll get over it.
If you give them a computer, make it known that you can lock them out of it at your slightest whim.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
Disclaimer: I am not a parent. Hell, I'm still half a kid myself (23).
One of the most important things you can teach your kids is not to be just a consumer but a producer, too. Teach them that using a computer doesn't just mean to download software and watch flash animations, but that a computer - any computer - is a tool for self-expression.
A computer is one of the most important tools of today. While it is a tool for the advertising department of company XYZ, it is also a tool express your thoughts (and dare I say it) dreams.
The ultimative producer experience is, in my humble opinion, writing a good program. (Don Knuth is with me on that one.) Programming in the right language* is a delighful thing.
That is what you should teach your kids.
* LISP is a good candidate since it is extremely simple and powerful. These two things go hand in hand.
"All you have to do is be fragile and grateful. So stay the underdog." Chuck Palahniuk, Choke
A computer is a tool, teach your kids that.
The internet... is a distraction that young children don't need.
Or if you do decide to stick them on the internet, be there while they use it. Make it an experience that involves you, the parent. Don't let the internet turn into the TV babysitter that some parents use.
And for God's sake, don't let them log on as Administrator.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I recommend getting her an SGI Tezro workstation, while SGI's still around. She'll be awed by the stylish enclosure and rocksolid IRIX operating system running on an XFS foundation. As her pre-school colleagues grapple with color precision and flawed volumetrics, she will be smooth sailing by the smooth CFD visualizations on her scientific-grade machine. As SGI folds during her later years, she'll appreciate your foresight in giving her a piece of computing history. Don't be late; start her off on a real computer.
I think you'd be right to point out that things like computers should be granted as privileges for good behavior over a long period of time. I'd suggest balancing things slightly differently though. The occasional random "just because I love you" gift as well as the semi-regular "you'll do it because it needs doing." It's not a good idea to overindulge, but you don't want to ignore and boss around too much either.
Personally, I'm in favor of keeping things on pencil and paper more or less until teachers start asking to have papers typed. (Maybe late middle school?)
Some of my friends in college didn't see a computer until mid/late high school and they still have a hard time with the difference between a file and folder, or understanding that you should navigate by reading the menu if you aren't familiar with the interface. That's a big setback these days. Give them a chance to play and work with a computer before high school for sure.
If you really want to help them though, and avoid the nagging "buy me stuff" attitude, dump the TV, or anything else that has commercials (monitor Internet as that takes off). The complaints about violence on TV causing problems might well be unfounded, but you can find any number of advertising agents who explicitly say that their goal is to make your kid nag you to death, and they don't get paid the big bucks for nothing.
Nowadays parents spend all weekend with their kids.
Part of me thinks this is a troll, but the fact that it has been modded up so high forces me to reply...
So the above quotation is seen as a bad thing by the poster who either a) has no kids, or b) has no kids. As a parent, you try to do what is best for you children. I'm not saying that parents don't make mistakes, and that the word "spoiled" is not in the dictionary, but given the society that we live in where oftentimes both parents work in order to try and give their children the best opportunities possible, the weekend comment is totally out of line, and so is the whole rant-of-a-post that, again, I can't believe has been modded up so high.
Twelve-and-three-quarter inches. Unyielding. This wand belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange.
Cooking is a good introduction to experimentation and elementary chemistry etc. Lego for spatial & basic construction skills. Get a steam engine or a Stirling engine, some magnets,... Fix a bike, brew some ginger beer... Fly a kite, knit some socks... Just whatever you do, do something **real**, not virtual computer simulation crap.
Engineering is the art of compromise.