- Image by babyparentingguide via Flickr
Congratulations to MandM, winners of the Smashies applesauce giveaway contest. If you would like to try Smashies for yourself, check out this site. They were a huge hit at our house, and require no clean-up for even little ones to eat. Oh, yeah, and they are healthy. I love these things.
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Okay, so maybe it is not exactly Monday morning. Maybe it is more like Wednesday afternoon. But when the holiday season strikes, I write my Monday Morning moments when I can, and count it as an accomplishment.
I had a fascinating business meeting this week with three quite distinguished men. On the sidelines of the conversation, we discussed what kind of computer or computing technology was the most appropriate, the safest, the most interesting, and the most beneficial for small children. Do small children do best with a Vtech mini-laptop? A Leapfrog device? Their own computer?
That technology will be an increasingly major part of our children’s lives goes without saying. How do we make them competitive in that world without frying their brains, stunting their learning, or overprotecting them to such an extent that they are left behind?
A fine line to walk.
My general philosophy is that the Internet is an incredible learning tool, and if my son can understand how it works conceptually at a young age, as well as manipulate the code behind it, he will have what is essentially fluency in a second language. I have formally studied four different foreign languages for a total of twelve years of schooling in one or another of them, and learning to code a website has required the exact same part of my brain, the exact same pain, the exact same patience. It has also yielded the same wonderful benefits.
That said, letting your child use the Internet requires constant supervision, much like letting them watch television, hang out with new friends, or play a video game. If you have the time for that kind of monitoring, here are the websites I suggest you and your child enjoy together. There are a lot of excellent ideas and activities for parents on these sites as well.
What do you think about the role of technology in childhood? What are your boundaries for it in your home, in your child’s playtime, and in their educational experience? I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with all of us.
EHParenting’s Favorite Kid-Friendly Websites
AGES TWO AND UP
http://www.starfall.com/
http://thisissand.com/
http://www.jacksonpollock.org/
http://pbskids.org/
AGES THREE AND UP
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/parentsHome.jsp
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/index.jsp
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
http://disney.go.com/games/#/games/
AGES FIVE AND UP
http://www.kids.gov/
http://kids.discovery.com/
http://www.parentsconnect.com/ShockwaveNav/index.html
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/
http://www.si.edu/
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