Playing video games

As an iPhone app developer, mom of three growing kids, and a member of MomsWithApps, I deal with this question every day, professionally and personally. In my mind, the child/iPhone combo often conjures images of images of kids playing video games for hours on end, and that’s often the case. At the same time, there are also some fantastic educational apps and benefits that come from mobile devices. So what might be some characteristics of apps for kids that make them worth downloading?

What limits do you set before you hand your iPhone over?

As a parent, I am looking for apps that start with the iPhone but encourage engagement with the world beyond the device, like sparking conversations with family and friends, exploring “real world” sites and phenomena through maps and geocaching. I applaud apps that truly require strategic and creative thinking, not just mindless repetition. The latest hot app is not necessarily good for kids just because they like it. In selecting apps, parents should look carefully for ones which are gateways back into the “real” world, not just a highway to the couch.

“Educational” means not just math facts, drills, and phonics, but also activities and content that encourage and develop social and communication skills: like PicPocket Books’ picture books, Tales2Go’s audio library or the conversation starters from the Family Matters App. By expanding horizons, these apps become tools for engagement rather than a drug for tuning out.

A pause in the play to check the storyline of Sleeping Beauty

As responsible parents, we must look closely not only at the content we allow our children to experience on the screen, but also how, when, how often, and where they are plugged in to mobile devices or other screens. One of the best ways to practice moderation and to set enforceable limits is to model the right example for your kids. Recognize that technology can be addictive – not only for kids but for adults too. If you don’t want your kids to zone out in front of the screen, then stop constantly checking your own devices. Set boundaries and limits that work for your family, and enforce the rules.

In our household, computers and mobile devices are kept on the main living level so parents can monitor online behavior in terms of content and time spent on-line. We have the kids tell us which games they are playing, what they like about them, and have them show us how they play as well – maybe even play with them, all to ensure that communication and engagement come with the virtual fun. We also make an effort to stay current with new communication platforms and technological developments.

Down the road, knowing how to navigate that world – and engaging in it creatively and actively -  will keep doors open longer for communicating with kids.

Thanks to MomsWithApps’ Lorraine Akemann and Jill Seman for collaborating and contributing to this post.

Creative play

Everyone loves a snow day!

Unstructured outdoor playtime

I also encourage year ’round outdoor play time for my kids.

They ride bikes, start pick-up soccer games, make forts in the neighborhood and engage in elaborate make-believe games with their neighborhood friends.

We do not allow them to watch TV or movies during the school week. That is just a hard and fast family rule and the kids don’t even ask for media time during the week – although election night is an exception – and maybe the upcoming winter Olympics, too!

Amazon Kindle

Have you ever wondered how our brains deal with digital reading?

Think about it: for years, centuries, we humans have been reading primarily from paper. Now, reading from a screen is becoming as popular, if not more popular, than reading print! Many of us read the news, magazines, blogs, and of course our mail on our computers or mobile devices. E-Books are becoming widely available too.

How do our brains handle this new medium? The New York Times Opinion article Does the Brain like E-Books? has a couple of explanations. In the article, experts address such issues as the balance between focal and peripheral attention (which, incidentally, is disrupted in reading whether from a screen or from traditional print). Do you think people read faster on screen or paper? How is comprehension affected?

Jonah Lehrer, in his article, Reading, E-Books and the Brain, reminds us that the brain is extremely adaptable and that “we excel at developing new habits.” He speculates that “before long, digital ink will feel just as easy as actual ink.”

Check it out! It’s pretty interesting to think about reading from the perspective of your brain.

An article in Publishers Weekly addresses these questions and more: are publishers ready? What about piracy? How will rights be handled? Will libraries become obsolete?

The article summarizes a forum held by the Children’s Book Council on “The Current State of E: Publishing in the Digital Age.”  One panelist states, “E-books add a fantastic functionality to what a book is. Adding interactivity to that experience is also very interesting. And thinking about ways they can be fun [is important], because it’s for children.”

There’s a lot of potential! What do you think?

Many of them, I’m sure, are great. Some of them, I’m sure, are rather silly. These, haha, seem to be some of the silliest.

Enjoy!

Mel Martin, who reviewed the B&N e-book reader in his article that showed up in the Publishers Weekly Morning report, called it a “festival of frustration.” In order to see anything, even the free e-books, he had to go through the tedious process of setting up an account, complete with password and, well, to make a long story short, just too many steps. Martin wasn’t wowed by the selection (process or presentation) when he finally got on the site, and pricing was…suspicious.

My interest still is in e-picture books. If B&N offers any, I couldn’t figure out how to view them. For children’s picture books, PicPocket Books apps look like the best option – you can download individual titles with one click or tap just like you would a song – no extra application or account needed.

Martin’s review of the B&N app is worth reading in its entirety for his humorous account of his frustration. Here’s the link: Barnes and Noble jumps into the e-book pool.

An article (2003) from the Kaiser Family Foundation addresses these concerns. The study focused on 0-6 year-olds and their media use. According to the many statistics that spatter the article, young children are spending a sizable amount of their time with media, whether it be videogames, computers, or TVs. 

The overall tone of the article is surprise. The study asserts that children, on average, spend as much time with media as they do playing outdoors, and far more time with media than they do reading. “These are astonishing data. Today’s preschoolers are starting to use media much younger than we thought,” stated study co-author Ellen Wartella. According to article, maybe we should be a little worried about media.

Yet is media for young children wholly bad? Of course not. Nor, frankly, can it be entirely avoided. Whether it’s comfortable for us or not, digital media is here to stay. Short of keeping children in wooden cabins in the forest, exposure to media is unavoidable. So what can we do?

As the article states, quality is as great a consideration as quantity. Balance is important as well. The article notes that children of parents who set boundaries on media time spend an average of  1/2 hour less per day plugged in. 

We can’t fully “protect” our children from digital media exposure. We may not even want to – we would like our children to grow up with many of the skills and understandings that come with media exposure. We don’t want to raise children more suited for the 1900s than 2000s. And is media harming our children developmentally? It can, of course, but so can many things. Blaming the Big Bad Media is hopeless; it’s stronger than we are. 

But we can be choosy about the (Big? Bad? maybe not always) media exposure we do allow. Quality and quantity are negotiable.

I remember the first time I saw an advertisement for the Amazon Kindle. Oh great, I thought, technology is taking over books now too!   Yet I don’t feel that way anymore. I don’t think that digital media strives to replace paper books, nor do I believe it ever could replace paper books. This article, about a Scholastic study, agrees.

“Kids age 5-17 believe technology will supplement – not replace – book reading and say they will always want to read books printed on paper” states the article. I believe this is because the experiences are so different. Certainly a hand-held device (like the iPhone or Kindle) is more convenient in many ways. It is small, light, and can hold many more books than it will ever be comfortable to carry in paper. For on-the-go, a hand-held device is perfect. 

But if you are sitting at home, relaxing, a book seems much more suitable. Additionally, there is the sentimentality of lending a book to friends, or writing notes in the margins and underlining text. I am sure that hand-held devices have a feature for marking text, but there is something different and irreplaceable about physically marking a physical page.  

The article also suggests that digital media can complement physical books by extending “the reading experience – by going to book or author websites or connecting with other readers.” I have found this to be true. I have often visited my favorite author’s (Jennifer Crusie) webpage. I like reading her articles and learning more about her books. Digital media can, therefore, complement the reading in general. 

I no longer feel concerned that digital media will replace paper books. Thoughts?