The 30 or so children here were not down at the shore poking their fingers in the sand or running them along mossy stones or digging for hermit crabs. Instead they were all inside, alone or in groups of two or three, their faces a few inches from a screen, their hands doing things Montessori surely did not imagine. A couple of 3-year-old girls were leaning against a pair of French doors, reading an interactive story called Ten Giggly Gorillas and fighting over which ape to tickle next. A boy in a nearby corner had turned his fingertip into a red marker to draw an ugly picture of his older brother. On an old oak table at the front of the room, a giant stuffed Angry Bird beckoned the children to come and test out tablets loaded with dozens of new apps. Some of the chairs had pillows strapped to them, since an 18-month-old might not otherwise be able to reach the table, though she’d know how to swipe once she did. -Hanna Rosin
LJ Digital: There have been discussions and arguments from parents around the world about how to raise their children. No one wants to be told that they aren’t raising their kid to be what society expects of them– bright, sociable, respectable, etc. The issue of whether or not handing your child an iPad is better or worse than setting up a jungle gym in the backyard has been a contentious one with the constant development of lighter, swifter, smaller technology. I myself have even scoffed at the site of children in malls and supermarkets sit and play on their iPads while their parents shop. They’re just going to grow up being perpetual Instagramers and need glasses too early, I think to myself.
However, iPads aren’t that awful. Every other adult person I know has one so why do I find it strange that my 7-year-old cousin has one? What makes us afraid to give technology to children? There are stories and interactive games on an iPad that can enhance a child’s receptive and problem-solving skills. In the outdoor setting, however, a child’s immune system matures and their bodies are more physically active. Can there be a happy medium?
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