A list of personal electronics for kids in different age groups
As technology is evolving and becoming more innovative, multifunctional and accessible, children are starting to use personal electronics at a very young and fragile age. Statistics and studies also prove that. According to some of them, kids learn to play video games and use web browsers before they learn to ride a bike or to swim. For instance, now 19% of the children aged between two and five can play with a smartphone app. However, only 11% of them can tie their shoelaces. For many these findings are a serious warning. A big part of the parents fear that their kids’ exposure to technology will make them unintelligent, dependable and less social. And they are right! These concerns are quite understandable. Still, there are parents who are willing and ready to satisfy the gadget hunger of their child without taking a moment to even think about the device’s possible effects on their kid, his emotional and mental development.
In this article we will discuss a few personal electronic products which can actually benefit your children.
- Handheld Leaning System – There are various educational devices that are developed for children at this age. They can help your kids learn to read, spell or count through special built-in games.
- Multimedia Player for Preschoolers – This is the kid’s version of a smart mobile device. It can store a small number of music and video files. In addition, children can add new applications to it and use it as an educational tool or even an eBook reader.
- Remote Control Toys – Although for some people remote control toys may seem a bit old fashioned, they have their advantages. Apart from entertaining your kids, these devices will also develop thier brain as well as their spatial senses.
- Electronic Alarm Clock – The first habit they will need to build is to learn to get up early on their own. An electronic alarm clock can be an effective way to do that. Today, there are many thematic clocks. For instance, they are covered with their favourite animated characters or they speak in funny voices. Also, by giving your child an electronic alarm clock, it will learn to be organized and to study by following a simple schedule.
- eBook Reader – Most children learn to read around the age of seven. However, with all the distractors today, many kids find reading boring and uninteresting. An eBoook reader is a nice way to combine the fun with the practical. Children will be more attracted to electronic readers
than traditional books because they look more interesting and engaging. In addition, most eBook readers have simple web browsers, games and music playback options that will appear attractive to your kid, but not on a level on which they will spend hours using these features. Also, such gadgets have dictionaries and basic text-to-speech tools that will enable your children to learn new vocabulary.
- Tablet (Optional) – This piece of electronics is only an optional choice, because it is not really suitable or beneficial for kids under 10. Tablets are useful for doing research for school projects. In addition, kids at that age are often required to do their homework in hand and not by typing it on a computer. Tablets do not have a physical keyboard which will reduce the time which your kid spends on this device.
Ages 13 – 18 – The older they get, the more technology they will want. However, this time they will actually need some of it. The key word here is “some.” That means that you should not buy any piece of technology your child asks you to.
- Mobile Phone – Teenagers have the bad habit of losing any track of time. As a result, they are often late from school or from a party. In addition, they will no longer feel the need to inform you about their every move. Therefore, a cell phone will keep you in close touch with them. The smartphone-or-no-smartphone dilemma is something that you should decide on your own. If you trust your kids and you think that they will not lose or break it or get distracted by it, then you can get them one.
Laptop/PC – Teenagers are very attached to their friends and they constantly want to communicate with them. Computers and laptops allow that. Teens can use them for emailing, chatting and socializing. Also, computers are an important tool for school preparation. Children at that age get homework that requires the use of a computer electronic presentations, essays, diagrams drawing and etc.
- Flash Memory – Again, this has to do more with your child’s education. Teenagers often need to transfer files and documents from the school library computers to their home PCs, from home to the classroom and various other scenarios.
- Music Player – Teenagers are typically moody and need to spend some time on their own. In addition, they have the habit of blasting their music really loud. To give them some privacy and a way to enjoy music to the max is by getting them a portable music player.
Although we have listed only the most important and less harmful personal electronics, their number is still too big. Only twenty years ago, kids relied only on their imagination, toys and TV to be entertained. But today they want everything they see on the commercials. In most of cases they do not need these gadgets. They only want them because they are easily influenced by the advertising industry. In fact, the only ones who benefit from this technological influx seem to be the companies that manufacture them and not the children who want them.
