Children in the early years have their own computer tablets
Technology is the way of the world in today’s society and it is the norm for adults to spend large majorities of their day working on and using various devices and now this is influencing children in the early years. It appears this is spreading to children and many 3 and 4 year olds own their own tablets and are confident in using them. This may not be surprising to readers however figures show that more children each year are requesting tablets and being given them by their parents with a sharp rise to 1 in 3 children now owning a tablet device.
Parents are keen to gift children with tablets as they consider them to be a great source of entertainment as well as offering educational perks. Studies have suggested that children spend around 2 hours per day on these devices and parents are happy with the amount of time children spend on these as well as watching TV.
Early years settings
Many early years settings are also adding to this trend by having various pieces of technology within the rooms for the children to access and operate on a daily basis. This is working in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage and supports children’s develop in a variety of areas.
Many early years settings not only have tablet devices but also other resources which can support and promote children’s awareness and development such as cameras, computers, laptops, cd players and for younger children simple toys with buttons. Many settings have technology areas within the rooms and lots now have interactive whiteboards for completing simple circle time activities on.
Recent findings have discovered that children at the ages of 3 and 4 are successfully able to operate tablets including using the camera features, controlling the volumes, accessing apps, playing simple games and watching online programmes. It could be argued that the EYFS needs to make some changes with their expectations as to what a child should now be able to achieve with regards to technology, making the development matters more advanced in the area of technology as children are surpassing many of the milestones much quicker than the EYFS suggests.
Technology is a great way to support development as it taps in and engages many different types of learner including those who like to learn through movement and sounds. Although often technology is an effective method to supporting development, some might suggest it is important time on these is limited so children are able to gain a variety of different experiences throughout their time in the early years. Practitioners should also be ensuring children get access to outdoors provision on a daily basis and learning from all the outdoors environment has to offer.
Guidelines and safety
To read more about the amount of access and current guidelines children in the early years should have to technology follow this link here
Experts are also calling out to parents and childcare practitioners` to ensure that the content that children have access to on these devices are all set up with children’s safety features to ensure children are not able to access any content that is intended for adult use only. Simple parental controls can be applied to most tablet and laptop settings maintaining a high level of safeguarding.
What is your opinion on young children accessing tablets and electronic devices? Do you feel that they help or hinder development?