The Negative Effects of Parenting as a Popularity Contest
Parents Must Communicate Their Values to Their Children
The Importance of Limit Setting in Technology Usage
Why Do Babies Love iPhones?
Babies Teaching Themselves to Use Smart Devices
Concerns Over Touch-Screen Apps and Learning
The Importance of Balanced Technology Usage in Parenting.

Parenting is hard work and is often a constant battle of making decisions, setting boundaries, and hoping that you are raising your child in the best way possible. As society evolves and technology advances, parenting has become even more complicated, with parents struggling to keep up with their children’s use of smartphones, tablets and social media. Unfortunately, many modern parents act as parenting is a popularity contest, trying to appease their children and earn their approval at all costs. This trend has serious negative effects on parenting and child development.

Parents often fear taking a strong stand with their children, afraid that their kids will not like them if they do. They resort to clarifying, explaining, negotiating and appeasing, resulting in inconsistent and confusing parenting styles. But parents need to clarify their values and communicate them to their children in confident, consistent ways. Most importantly, they should not be afraid that their kids may not like them.

In this digital age, there is no avoiding technology. Rather than ignoring technology and hoping that it will go away, parents have to figure out how they want to integrate technology into their family values. This is especially crucial when it comes to limit-setting in technology. Parents must be proactive in limiting their children’s technology usage and explain the reasons for doing so.

Babies, as young as nine months old, are teaching themselves to use smartphones, iPads, and iPhones, much to the horror of many parents. According to research, more than two-thirds of mothers said their one-year-old could perform functions on a smartphone or tablet, such as playing games, swiping to unlock, pressing play on a YouTube video, scanning through a photo gallery, and closing disliked apps to open preferred ones.

Many babies teach themselves how to use devices by copying their parents or siblings from the age of nine or ten months. Psychologists and pediatricians have concerns about technology interfering with talk time between parents and children, which is crucial for language development. While many apps mimic conventional toys, they don’t necessarily teach children the critical skills that come from physically interacting with objects. Babies need to learn how the real world works through exploration and play, not just through screens.

There is an ongoing debate about educational apps and their effectiveness for children. While touch-screens are taking over, educating parents on what is and isn’t effective in terms of apps is crucial. Apps and games labeled “educational” may not necessarily help a child learn, so parents should be wary of these types of apps. The research on touch-screens and children is not yet clear, so parents need to aim for balanced technology usage that includes plenty of real-world interaction and play.

In conclusion, parenting is not a popularity contest. Parents need to communicate their values to their children and set boundaries, especially when it comes to limiting technology usage. Babies are teaching themselves to use devices as young as nine months old, and while many apps may be labeled “educational,” they may not be effective in helping a child learn. The importance of balanced technology usage that includes interaction with the real world and plenty of play cannot be overemphasized. Remember, parenting is about guidance and not perfection.