GoJoMi

The other week my son asked me "Dad, when I'm older, maybe 10, can I have an iPad?" As a very active, passionate and spontaneous 4 1/2 year old boy I was a little taken back by how thoughtfully and respectfully he asked the question. My reply was "Yes. You will probably will need an iPad for school when you're 10." And that was the end of the conversation. In that rare moment of silence one has with 3 children under five, my childhood flashed before my eyes, prompting the question "What educational values of toys has technology replaced?" What joys of climbing trees or playing with wooden toys has been traded for the swipe of an oleophobic glass screen. As a parent of a soon to be five year old, a two year old and a 2month hold, my wife and I have been vigilant to minimize "screen time" for our kids. But as the years fly by the screen time has slowly crept up from 20mins a week to once or twice, or thrice on the weekends... and tho...

When I ask my eldest child what he enjoyed most about his day he inevitably starts his sentence with "Playing with.." To him play is extremely important and he can't wait to do it. Little does he realise that play is also vital to the development of his language skills and gives him real-life situations to apply his new found skills by encouraging problem solving and creative thinking. At birth babies have roughly 100 billion brain cells which they will carry into their adulthood. In the first three years of life, the baby's five senses will constantly send information to their brain about their relationships, experiences and surroundings. This information will spark an exponential number of connections and result in the baby's brain growing to 90% of an adult size brain. These connections map the pathways between nerve cells and will change as the brain learns new things and experiences the milestones and events of life. Sponsored Advertisement Educato...