Technology for kids: Too good or too bad?

The digital advent, coupled with cutthroat competition, encourages parents to push their kids to ace everything — from solving a puzzle to unlocking a cellphone. Are parents raising kids to be tech- smart or tech slaves? A parental debate that portrays two sides of a coin, where Bessy Gomes pushes for tech-savvy childhood and Jissy Jobi opposes the belief. Here's why:

Safety, with knowledge

Two-and-a-half-year-old Christina Gomes is a tech-friendly kid from Delhi. She uses her mother's mobile for more than seven hours. "When she was eight months old, I started showing her nursery rhymes on video, which fascinated her. By the time she turned a year-and-a-half, she grasped the basics of a smartphone by recognising its buttons," says Blessy Gomes, Christina's mother. According to Blessy, the atmosphere in Delhi is unsafe.
With the increasing number of crimes in the capital, she is terrified of letting her daughter play out with other kids. The 26-year-old homemaker wanted her daughter to stay at home without feeling left out, and so on Christina's second birthday, she gifted her a tablet. However, Christina still prefers her mother's phone over the tablet.

"That homemakers get a lot of free time is a myth. At times, I don't even get time to have lunch. There is so much work to complete," adds Gomes. The mobile is a way to keep Christina busy. "She efficiently unlocks the phone and switches on the Internet. Christina loves video calling and keeps sending voice notes on WhatsApp (to my friends and relatives). She has learned numerous nursery rhymes and stories, in a more creative way, from YouTube. She doesn't just study but also plays games (like Beepzz, My Talking Hank, Music Game, and Alphabet puzzle), clicks selfies and uses hands-free to listen to music. "Christina is tech-savvy. She has an amazing grasping power. I'm am slightly concerned about the fact that she is a bit addicted to the phone. However, technology allows me to keep a track on her movements to ensure she is safe. That, above everything else, is most important to me," says Gomes.

Not fostering a tech-slave

Johan Jobi is a year-and-a-half now. His mother hasn't allowed him to use a smartphone yet nor will she permit him to do so till he turns 14, at least. As a medical professional in Kuwait, Jissy Jobi, mother of Johan, has seen a lot of epilepsy cases, which doctors attribute to the excessive use of smartphones.

"Parents who don't usually have time to spend with their kids give them smartphones," adds Jobi.

According to Jobi, psychologists and paediatricians also link a child's social skills to the use of a mobile. She feels her kids will never lag behind since they are imparted with knowledge in a traditional way.

"Once I was typing something on YouTube and a porn site popped up. These pages can come up anytime, even while my kids are watching cartoons, and it's horrifying to think they might end up watching it," says the 33-year-old.

Johan's elder siblings are also not permitted to use smartphones. If the parents spend enough time with their kids, then children will never ask for anything else, she says. Her kids never demand a mobile as she has told them.

"Phones are meant only for elders. If we could survive without a mobile phone throughout our childhood, why can't our children do the same?" says Jobi.