Computers and Children

Recently, I've come upon two reports concerning children using computers. One report was on a local TV channel, which featured a childcare center receiving computers with the help of a state representative. The pitch was that the center needed computers that would allow children to go on line for learning.

I still have mixed feelings about children using computers on line outside the home since we still haven't mastered how to keep children safe on line. When I say safe on line, I mean from the standpoint of parents being more involved in the process beyond software and Web site blocks on computers. I keep thinking that parents need to instill in their children a stronger sense of boundaries, i.e., in speech (what type of speech is never OK for children), personal space (who to allow in personal space as well as being mindful of other people's personal space), age-appropriateness behavior (what behavior is OK for particular age level), and other boundaries. Kids Safe Programs at school may reach children on the intellectual level, but I think not on the personal or emotional level. The home setting is best to reach children about safety on the personal and emotional level. Well, what about children in homes without parental guidance? Perhaps that falls withing the category of child endangerment.

In the report concerning a childcare center having computers for children, I also had reservations about the extent of computer use fby pre-school children. I believe pre-schoolers should have minimal use of computers. My reasoning is that children at that age need to develop full-range motor skill with their hands and using computers doesn't provide that practice. Additionally, computer use currently--Nintendo Wii notwithstanding--often encourages a sedentary lifestyle. And I think researchers are linking some of childhood obesity to sedentary posture and computer use.

The other computer use report I saw was at the Christin Science Monitor on line wherein Tom Regan wrote an article titled How to Make Your Kid's Computer Time Educational and - Fun. The article references software and Web sites appropriate for children. That was fine. What I thought was interesting was that the writer, even within the article title, seems to suggest that fun should be secondary to education.

I totally disagree with fun taking a back seat to education. In fact, I think good education is inherently fun. I'm even banking future projects with children on that premise. Children are learning at exponential rates from games. As adults we're often Neanderthal in our thinking about children and learning these days. The result is that often children are bored in many school situations and are quiting school at earlier ages.

My recommendation is for schools to find people who make learning fun--credentials only indicate that educators have the knowledge and not whether the educator can impart the knowledge. Even though I'm a huge fan for using computers for learning, for now with, however, I recommend they be used sparingly in most cases.

Tantrums

Unrelated to the video above, Dr. Claire McCarthy of Harvard Medical School has written A Guide to Tantrums on MSN.com. The information is divided in sections as "Why Tantrums Happen," "Why Some Children Are More Prone to Tantrums," and "How to Prevent or Diffuse Tantrums." Certainly, the information is practical. However, I think it comes down to children are being children although it is a power play for children. I disagree that parents and caregivers should allow the situation to play out to the discomfort of other people.

What I don't understand and refuse to accept is adults who have tantrums.

Skin Infection Up Among Children

An article in Science Digest indicates that from 1997 to 2005, visits to hospital for abscesses or cellulites among children increased from 10.1 per 1,000 to to 27.6. Most interesting is that simple solutions to ward off infections includes actions as children washing their hands with soap and water as well as children covering up open cuts and wounds, particularly when playing sports.

Laughter Yoga

I've been thinking about yoga for children, and this type of yoga seems like a good place to start.

Girls Do as Well as Boys in Math

NPR on line has an article that indicates that girls are doing as well as boys on math assessment tests. That is fine to know. What is troubling is that the achievement of girls in math isn't translating into having them well-represented in math-intensive techology an science fields. I'm not surprised.

One reason I'm not surprised takes me back 37 years. I was dating a girl in college who was majoring in math. She informed me that she was having a problem with the math chairperson, who thought that females wasn't good enough to receive a degree in math. At the time I couldn't understand why the math chairperson, who was also one of her professors, had that view. I had no notion of that type of discrimination at the point in life.

Lately, however, I been thinking that females maybe turned away from math at very early levels. If few females are graduating with degrees in math and even fewer females with math degrees are teaching at the primary school level, then females don't have role models toward a career in math early on. There is also the point that fewer males, who may have degrees in math, are teaching at the early education level.

I might be stretching the point, but I think the question has never been whether girls can do math as much as them having the encouragement and role models in math.

Diversity in Primary Schools Benefits Children

I've always thought that student diversity in early education is just as important as students learning to read and write. In fact, I think social skills are more important now in view of social networks as Facebook, MySpace and other. Therefore, I was pleased to see an article that highlights a study, which focused on diversity in primary schools.

Childhood Obesity

Genetic Link to Violence and Delinquency

Through Yahoo News I came up a story by Maggie Fox of Health and Science that cites a study that supports the idea that there is a genetic link to violence and delinquency. My first impression was that it is one thing to discover a link, but it's another thing to lean toward generalizations. For example, one statement in the story caught my eye: "Three genes may play a strong role in determining why some young men raised in rough neighborhoods or deprived families become violent criminals, while others do not," I'm extremely sensitive to the point that violence and delinquency is nearly always highlighted in "rough neighborhoods." What about mass killings by juveniles from middle class and wealthy neighborhoods? Violence and delinquency in upscale neighborhoods would be a good, unique study

Moreover, at what point do we start identifying children who are may commit violence or become a delinquent? Do we start in kindergarten, elementary school, or even prior to birth? Will we get the point of addressing "pre-crime" as presented in one of Tom Cruise's movies (Minority Report) and arrest people before they commit crimes.

I guess I'm saying that I don't trust our society to handle genetic information morally. Call me a pessimist, but I see greed and power overrunning morality time and time again.

Little Technology Addicts

I have mixed feelings about children and technology. On one hand I think many children are overly dependent on technology for communication, and we still don't fully understand the dangers of technology on humans. Do electronic signals from a single device have any negative effects on the body? Does a barrage of signals from competing devices have an effect on the body? What about social costs as we have less face-to-face communication?

On the other hand, I welcome the opportunity to allow children to communicate differently. I'm certain children are learning more at earlier ages, but their understanding lacks depth. In many situations they are simply reacting and not thinking because they lack the development to think in complex ways.

With these ideas in mind, I read an article by Rachel Mosteller at Huffington Post on line wherein she raises concern about children becoming addicted to technology.