Tech or No Tech

Photo illustration by Yahoo Parenting

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Whether your kid logs long hours on the computer or you’ve seriously limited screen time, chances are you grapple with children’s ever-increasing reliance on gadgets. It’s certainly one of the biggest hot-button topics facing parents today. Bring it up around other parents and you’ll see pretty quickly how passionate some are about using (or avoiding) technology (just the other day, for example, I watched a mom chide another for letting her daughter eat dinner at a restaurant while watching “Frozen” on a tablet). So, is it time to put your kid on a mandatory tech break, or not? Read on and decide for yourself:

The Research: Three studies are particularly important when it comes to debating the pros and cons of the smart phone that never seems to leave your child’s hands. First, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its guidelines for children and media use last year, recommending that kids under two have no screen time and that kids over two should be limited to two hours or less a day. A national survey, conducted in 2010 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, reported that kids ages eight to 18 spend a dramatically increased time (7.5 hours a day) with technology. And a third study, conducted by UCLA researchers, found that immediately after playing video games or using technology, kids were deficient when it came to displaying empathy or interpreting emotional cues from others.

What the Expert Says: “Technology can be a fantastic tool at any age,” says Katie LeClerc Greer, an Internet safety expert. “I have two children who use technology very sparingly and I think we can all agree that technology is changing the face of education. It can be extremely beneficial but the key, at every age, is moderation.”

What parents say: “I think technology is good in moderation,” says Meghan Corridan, a mom of a four-and-a-half-year-old daughter who also uses an iPad as part of her work as an occupational therapist with preschooler and school age-kids. “The benefits of using an iPad in occupational therapy has been amazing.”

Donna Scanlon, a mom of three, isn’t anti-technology. She just doesn’t think children, especially elementary school-aged kids and younger, need to be using it. “Instead of using an iPad to draw pictures, why not just break out the crayons and have them draw real pictures?” she asks.

The Bottom Line: While most experts recommend limiting technology, especially during a child’s younger years, it’s ultimately up to parents to set limits on how much their child can access technology. But less, it appears, is more.