Kids use technology today at a very early age. You might have seen 2-year-olds swipe around mobile phones like they’ve been using the device for decades. It signals that the children are deeply influenced by technology and it can be both bad and good. While a lot of children use technology as an educational advantage, some can lose focus on addictive games.
Luckily, to help children who lose their attention in unproductive activities, We bring 6 ways to ensure they make productive use of technology.
Teach Them Programming at an Early Age
Teaching your child how to code and how to use productivity software suites like Adobe, MS Office, and Unity can go a long way in preparing them for the digital future. Business and administrative processes in the professional world that once used pen and paper now use software to speed up the process and quadruple the productivity. If your child lacks digital skills, chances are that he/she will miss major opportunities.
Coding can develop your child’s innovative streak and creativity. When a young one is made used to an integrated development platform, designing on photoshop, or making basic games on Unity, they’re unlikely to waste time on unproductive activities (especially social media).
Gamified Educational Apps
Your digital devices need to be filled with upskilling applications tailored for a young audience. Studies show that visual and interactive modes of education can improve learning by up to 400% and the teachings stay in long-term memory. Knowledge based on visual cues are retained by 60% after 3 days. For young learners who lack a developed vocabulary necessary for learning, this is as good as it gets.
Take for example, Kahoot, a platform that gamifies school curriculum. Here, teachers and students alike can create pop quizzes with colourful images. Similarly, Duolingo uses mascot-power (the green owl ”Duo”) to make learning new languages interesting. Both Kahoot and Duolingo are widely used around the world for quick yet effective lessons among the younger generation.
Delete Skill-waning Games
Some games, when played, do not teach anything useful in return. On the contrary, they may damage the discipline instilled in your children and trigger dopamine dependence. These games set back the learned skills as children are influenced to keep playing the game 24×7. It’s better to remove skill-damaging applications and replace them with gamified educational apps.
Set Up a Reward System
Parents can set up an off-screen rewards system with the objective of promoting productive use of technology. It’s the best way to replace unproductive technology use by the children, especially when they access time-wasting social media platforms that are often not safe spaces for them.
To set up an effective reward system with respect to promoting productive use of technology among the young ones, find one technical skill that you would like your child to learn. Set realistic goals for them, which if they achieve, they will be rewarded. Always include your children in the process of choosing their rewards.
For example, if your child completes two mathematics quizzes in two hours, you can reward them with a sugar-free candy. You will find that your children are easier to technology-train with classical conditioning.
Enable Parental Control
Parental control options are available within the settings of selected devices, or you can download specialised software for the same. It can lock your children out of unproductive apps, technology, and mature content. Essentially, parental control establishes cyber safety habits. Your kids will be directed to use productive technology
Enable Screen Time
Screen time is the most beneficial restraining setting that a parent can institute. This can be done both off-device and on-device. Children only need to be allowed on their computers and smartphones for a healthy amount of time(two hours per day). Other than that, they should be engaging in physical activity.
What do you think about the productivity-boosting solutions above? Agree with them? If no, then let us know how we can help children use their time better on digital devices!
