I was talking to another mom about what kind of tech we buy for our kids who are ages six and eight and I realized that I have some thoughts about this.
Ideally I want my children to be able to independently use technology that is safe for them. A cellphone is something they can work towards but they are not ready for yet. Though there are a number of functions the phone gives that are great, so I've been trying to focus on giving access to tech that allows some of those functions, often times, to make them safe, it would be in a device in and of itself.
Music is one of those functions. There are a few different devices available to allow kids to listen to music independently. The ones that come to mind right away are devices with cards, such as the Yoto player. We rented one from our local library to try out and it was great. When I looked into it further, I felt it was a little expensive and limited in selection. So we went the old-school route and ended up getting a discman for each of the kids and a nice set of headphones each as their Christmas present this year. It is great because their dad and I both have a collection of CDs from many years ago. Also, CDs are still being made today and sold in stores, with a huge selection of artists. There's a bit of a learning curve for the children to play their discmen. However, they caught on quickly and as I am writing this, my daughter is listening to hers with one of my vintage CDs.
Talking to each other is another one of those functions that tech does and we have a couple of ideas for this that don't include having a cellular phone. We use walkie-talkies when within short range--going to their neighbours houses or the backyard. It even reaches to our local park. Last summer I researched ways that the kids could call their friends and family independently and I found the tin can phone. I recently was reminded of it as they were talked about in my local Facebook group and then the other day a family I follow on Instagram posted about theirs. I had originally thought they could only call other tin can phones though found out from these families who had them that for around $15 Canadian dollars, you can call any number that the parent decides on the app. That made it a lot more worthwhile, though that's still kind of expensive and they keep a lot of information from the service, so that is not ideal. Gotta think about security too. So now a couple of my family members and our neighbour, who all work in tech, are thinking about getting some vintage phones and setting this up for each of our households. I'll report back if we end up going this route. I am very hopeful, though I can't say I would be much help, except perusing the second hand stores. My hubby thinks he knows where he can get some vintage phones though.
Playing games is another function that cellular phones do and it is a fun one. Currently we have a computer set up without internet on our main floor. It has Steam. Though, it just doesn't have an internet browser downloaded. We decided to have this computer in the main living space as eventually it could have internet and then we could monitor what it is being used for. The children are learning how to use a keyboard and mouse by playing games on this computer. I don't know too much about what this computer has available on it as I haven't explored much and I didn't set it up. Though I would like it to have a few simple programs such as paint and notepad as well. I have some exploring and research to do here. I have played a few games on it though. We have a few computers set up in the house and they use the other ones for playing games too. We also have a shared Ipad and though it doesn't have many games at the moment, we do have Procreate, which they know how to use quite well because I love that program and taught them. I have purchased memberships for apps over the summer to work on things like reading or French language learning. I just make sure I cancel my subscription come the start of school again.
Video/TV/Movies are another side of tech that we let the kids engage in. As for Movies, we watch movies on our basement TV, as a family. The children also have Youtube kids on their Ipads, so they watch some of those shows. Plus I like to watch YouTube when I knit so if I watch one of my crafty vlogs, they sometimes watch too. We are trying to encourage long form video over short form.
We listen to audiobooks in the car on long journeys. It's not an independent thing, as I download it from Libro.fm on my phone, though it's worth mentioning as we have listened to quite a few books and series that way.
Timing/Alarms are another function that we consider for the kids. They have a physical timer that counts down from 1 hour, that they use to time things. And one of them has my vintage alarm clock and radio for the time as well in their rooms. It has an alarm and radio function, though some of the buttons are not working efficiently so I've been considering getting new ones for each of them. I just haven't sourced a good one yet.
The kids get 5 minutes of screen time afterschool and can earn more by doing agreed upon learning, such as writing or reading, though most of the time they just take the 5 minutes. On weekends or non school days, they get an hour each.
That's how we approach technology in our household. What kind of things are working for you?
