Toddlers and the I-Phone...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/fashion/17TODDLERS.html

What a nice controversy we have here. The I-Phone, learning apps and the toddler. Are these compatible?

I definitely think  that they are if they are used judiciously with the toddler in your life.

In amazement, I watch toddlers with their parents tuned in to the I Touch, I Phone or whatever, learning sounds, shapes, animals, or vocabulary words and then hearing canned clapping as their reward along with a stickers for repeated successes.

How could something like this be bad in this age of technology? These are the children of the future and it will be a future fraught with choices. Many of those choices will involve technology and "soft addictions" to technology.

Parents have a clear obligation here to monitor a toddler's time and use of this current technology... yes again the responsibility lies with the parent. Just as you would not want your child to sit and eat a gallon of ice cream you would also not want to just leave them in front of the television or have an I Phone/Pad to themselves for hours on end.

With supervision and with rewards coming from their parents on their successes playing such "apps" "Toddler Teasers" it is my opinion that technology can enhance a child's learning and prepare them for the technology world that is ahead of them.

An additional perk is that as a grandparent your grandchild's use of the I-Touch may actually keep you "in touch" with the changing world around you.

What do you think?