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26-06-2011, 11:19 AM
I see this a little too often - parents using iPads and iPhones to calm their screaming children down. I prefer the old-fashioned approach - scold or spank if necessary with my own kid!
Jun 26, 2011
The rise of the iPhone nanny?
Worry is that using gadgets to distract kids will lead to discipline, development problems
By Irene Tham
No one bats an eyelid when they see young children attended to by their new nanny, the iPhone. Not in gadget- crazy Singapore, at least.
It's not hard to understand why parents turn to this convenient tool. They get instant respite - useful when one is trying to get a decent meal or adult conversation going.
Kids turn from little wrigglers and whiners to angels in a matter of seconds when parents whip out the touchscreen gizmo.
Now, a larger screen version, the iPad, is commonly sighted too in restaurants and malls.
Call me a dinosaur, but I think there must be a better way to entertain bored kids or put a stop to unruly behaviour. The fact that parents are carelessly rewarding them - by letting them play games or watch a movie on the smartphone - for bad behaviour or restlessness in public is worrying too.
Passing the parenting responsibilities to the iPhone can't be the way to bring up children, can it?
The general consensus among experts is a firm 'no'.
Dr So Wing Chee, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore's department of psychology, said the mindless use of tech gadgets to tame misbehaving children can lead to discipline problems later.
'It just stops the symptoms but does not deal with the underlying problems,' she said.
Parents are deceived into thinking that the problem is under control when it is actually not. The worst-case scenario? 'Parental discipline will become ineffective,' she warned.
Outsourcing parental care to technology will also hamper a child's language and 'theory of mind' development, both of which rely on human interaction, she noted.
A psychiatric term, theory of mind refers to the ability to shift perspectives - a trait lacking in children with autism or those experiencing severe pain.
University of Washington molecular biologist John Medina talked about theory of mind in children in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times published on May 29.
He is a firm believer that children - if allowed to be glued to digital screens - will be robbed of the opportunity to form competent human relationships.
Without these relationships, a child's theory of mind will not be well developed. This will in turn affect a child's quantitative reasoning and ability to do maths.
'Is the iPad making a (person) stupid? Is all the 'e' stuff making a (person) stupid? There may be some suggestions that it might be,' said Dr Medina, who specialises in the genetics of psychiatric disorders.
The war of words between the University of Washington and The Walt Disney Company in 2007 may provide a clue to the questions Dr Medina posed.
That year, the University of Washington published a study titled 'Associations between Media Viewing and Language Development in Children Under Age 2 Years' based on phone interviews with 1,000 parents of children aged two to 24 months in Minnesota and Washington in the United States.
The study concluded that among infants aged eight to 16 months, exposure to baby-oriented educational DVDs and videos - including Baby Einstein products owned by Walt Disney - was strongly associated with lower scores on a standard language development test. For each hour per day spent watching these, infants understood on average six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch the products.
Daily reading and storytelling by a human adult, on the other hand, were found to be associated with higher language scores, especially for toddlers.
In a press statement announcing the study, its researchers recommended that parents limit the use of baby DVDs and videos.
'There is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos and there is some suggestion of harm,' said lead author Frederick Zimmerman in the statement.
The report and subsequent bad press rankled with the head honchos at Walt Disney. In August 2007, Mr Robert Iger, president and chief executive of Walt Disney, disputed the claims made and demanded a retraction.
But Mr Mark Emmert, then president of the University of Washington, defended the research and its statement.
Two years whizzed by and no word came from Walt Disney. But in September 2009, it announced a refund for all Baby Einstein videos that did not turn children into geniuses - a tacit admission that these products did not increase infant intellect.
Ms Ho Yin Fong, academic director of NTUC's SEED Institute, which trains early childhood educators, said young children learn best through sensory experiences.
'The sight, touch and the feelings invoked cannot be experienced through a touchscreen no matter how real or 3-D it is,' Ms Ho noted.
But electronic gadgets are here to stay, and are even used in schools as a teaching tool - whether parents like it or not. This is why most preschool educators are more in favour of a moderated approach to exposing children to technology.
EtonHouse Singapore's executive principal John Cooley said: 'It is unwise to be alarmist or to preach from a supposed moral high ground. It will only result in negative communication and widen the gulf between parents and their children.'
Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning and Chiltern House's principal director Fiona Walker said there is a time and place for everything.
'As wonderful a tool as technology can be for a busy or harassed parent, it mustn't be allowed to erode the connection between child and parent,' she said.
Mrs Patricia Koh, founder-director of Pat's Schoolhouse, said parents need to lead by example and show their children how not to let these electronic gizmos take over their lives.
I'm more conservative than I should be - since I'm a technology reporter - when it comes to giving the iPhone to my 22-month-old daughter or letting her watch television. I allow only 15 minutes of television or the iPhone when she is inconsolably sick.
It's ironic - some would say hypocritical - that I impose tech limits on Ollie when I own two mobile phones, shop frequently online and update my Facebook page.
As much as I'm convinced by Dr Medina's argument that digital media is bad for children, I'm also holding back on the iPhone to prevent myself from taking short cuts with Ollie.
You can't be a responsible parent if you are taking the easy way out all the time.
If I have time enough for only one child, I am satisfied with having just one child.
Why have more children when you don't have the time for them?
itham@sph.com.sg
Jun 26, 2011
The rise of the iPhone nanny?
Worry is that using gadgets to distract kids will lead to discipline, development problems
By Irene Tham
No one bats an eyelid when they see young children attended to by their new nanny, the iPhone. Not in gadget- crazy Singapore, at least.
It's not hard to understand why parents turn to this convenient tool. They get instant respite - useful when one is trying to get a decent meal or adult conversation going.
Kids turn from little wrigglers and whiners to angels in a matter of seconds when parents whip out the touchscreen gizmo.
Now, a larger screen version, the iPad, is commonly sighted too in restaurants and malls.
Call me a dinosaur, but I think there must be a better way to entertain bored kids or put a stop to unruly behaviour. The fact that parents are carelessly rewarding them - by letting them play games or watch a movie on the smartphone - for bad behaviour or restlessness in public is worrying too.
Passing the parenting responsibilities to the iPhone can't be the way to bring up children, can it?
The general consensus among experts is a firm 'no'.
Dr So Wing Chee, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore's department of psychology, said the mindless use of tech gadgets to tame misbehaving children can lead to discipline problems later.
'It just stops the symptoms but does not deal with the underlying problems,' she said.
Parents are deceived into thinking that the problem is under control when it is actually not. The worst-case scenario? 'Parental discipline will become ineffective,' she warned.
Outsourcing parental care to technology will also hamper a child's language and 'theory of mind' development, both of which rely on human interaction, she noted.
A psychiatric term, theory of mind refers to the ability to shift perspectives - a trait lacking in children with autism or those experiencing severe pain.
University of Washington molecular biologist John Medina talked about theory of mind in children in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times published on May 29.
He is a firm believer that children - if allowed to be glued to digital screens - will be robbed of the opportunity to form competent human relationships.
Without these relationships, a child's theory of mind will not be well developed. This will in turn affect a child's quantitative reasoning and ability to do maths.
'Is the iPad making a (person) stupid? Is all the 'e' stuff making a (person) stupid? There may be some suggestions that it might be,' said Dr Medina, who specialises in the genetics of psychiatric disorders.
The war of words between the University of Washington and The Walt Disney Company in 2007 may provide a clue to the questions Dr Medina posed.
That year, the University of Washington published a study titled 'Associations between Media Viewing and Language Development in Children Under Age 2 Years' based on phone interviews with 1,000 parents of children aged two to 24 months in Minnesota and Washington in the United States.
The study concluded that among infants aged eight to 16 months, exposure to baby-oriented educational DVDs and videos - including Baby Einstein products owned by Walt Disney - was strongly associated with lower scores on a standard language development test. For each hour per day spent watching these, infants understood on average six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch the products.
Daily reading and storytelling by a human adult, on the other hand, were found to be associated with higher language scores, especially for toddlers.
In a press statement announcing the study, its researchers recommended that parents limit the use of baby DVDs and videos.
'There is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos and there is some suggestion of harm,' said lead author Frederick Zimmerman in the statement.
The report and subsequent bad press rankled with the head honchos at Walt Disney. In August 2007, Mr Robert Iger, president and chief executive of Walt Disney, disputed the claims made and demanded a retraction.
But Mr Mark Emmert, then president of the University of Washington, defended the research and its statement.
Two years whizzed by and no word came from Walt Disney. But in September 2009, it announced a refund for all Baby Einstein videos that did not turn children into geniuses - a tacit admission that these products did not increase infant intellect.
Ms Ho Yin Fong, academic director of NTUC's SEED Institute, which trains early childhood educators, said young children learn best through sensory experiences.
'The sight, touch and the feelings invoked cannot be experienced through a touchscreen no matter how real or 3-D it is,' Ms Ho noted.
But electronic gadgets are here to stay, and are even used in schools as a teaching tool - whether parents like it or not. This is why most preschool educators are more in favour of a moderated approach to exposing children to technology.
EtonHouse Singapore's executive principal John Cooley said: 'It is unwise to be alarmist or to preach from a supposed moral high ground. It will only result in negative communication and widen the gulf between parents and their children.'
Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning and Chiltern House's principal director Fiona Walker said there is a time and place for everything.
'As wonderful a tool as technology can be for a busy or harassed parent, it mustn't be allowed to erode the connection between child and parent,' she said.
Mrs Patricia Koh, founder-director of Pat's Schoolhouse, said parents need to lead by example and show their children how not to let these electronic gizmos take over their lives.
I'm more conservative than I should be - since I'm a technology reporter - when it comes to giving the iPhone to my 22-month-old daughter or letting her watch television. I allow only 15 minutes of television or the iPhone when she is inconsolably sick.
It's ironic - some would say hypocritical - that I impose tech limits on Ollie when I own two mobile phones, shop frequently online and update my Facebook page.
As much as I'm convinced by Dr Medina's argument that digital media is bad for children, I'm also holding back on the iPhone to prevent myself from taking short cuts with Ollie.
You can't be a responsible parent if you are taking the easy way out all the time.
If I have time enough for only one child, I am satisfied with having just one child.
Why have more children when you don't have the time for them?
itham@sph.com.sg
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
