Saturday, February 14, 2009

Who says you're too young to do that?

So in the fall of 2007 the NY Times wrote a story "For Toddlers, Toy of Choice Is Tech Device."

The article included the following:

"Wiring toys for a young audience is worrying some children’s advocates and pediatricians. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against screen time for children ages 2 and younger, and it recommends no more than one to two hours a day of quality programming on televisions or computers for older children.

Donald L. Shifrin, a pediatrician based in Seattle and the spokesman for the academy, said tech toys cannot replace imaginative play, where children create rich narratives and interact with peers or parents.

“Are we creating media use as a default for play?” Dr. Shifrin asked. “When kids want to play, will they ask, ‘Where’s the screen?’ ”

Not so ironically last week Leap Frog Unveiled Baby Blackberry for Tots
"The Text & Learn was unveiled at the U.K. Toy Fair this week and isn't supposed to be announced in the U.S. until next week, but we do know it will be available this summer and will cost $25."

This brings more things to mind than I have time to mention here. In 2007 Pediatricians cautioned against "screen time" for children 2 and younger and two years later a device is launched for those 2 and under. Now I am not on either side of the debate as my interest lie in letting the data speak for itself, in terms of actually observing young people with the device(s).

It just seems ironic that there was all of this talk about the potential of harm to children 2 and over in using these devices and then they go and create one for children even younger. I have not found, hence my summer research, any data that actually observes "toddler" device use in a non-controlled setting. Pediatricians have definite opinions on both sides of the argument but many of those same pediatricians also sit on both sides of the vaccination divide/debate, so their opinions have some credibility issues.

This validates my research (well at least I hope it does) providing me even more motivation to craft and conduct a study which looks into many of the questions which arise out of the creation, marketing and ultimate use of these devices by anyone, let alone toddlers.

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