Introducing Kids to Electronics

Everything around us is driven by electronics (and technology) nowadays, and is an important field in the world of engineering. Introducing kids to the world of electronics can help them to move on to more exciting things like computing and robotics projects.

Kids have a curious mind and have always been fascinated with objects (by their movements, colors, design, etc.); most of their toys don’t last long as they try to take them apart (kids do that to most things). As parents, you should definitely encourage children to explore new ideas, and that is where simple machines, electronics kits & toys turn out to be useful learning tools.

Here’s what kids can learn from Electronics (Kits & Toys)

Coordination Skills: Most kits and toys require children to build things, move things, which in turn helps kid develop better hand-eye coordination skills and improve their motor skills.

• Reinforce basic educational fundamentals: Electronic toys and apps teach children about shapes, words, colors, and numbers; they learn more about animals and their world.
• Communication Skills: Not the ones that revolve around human interaction, but the one that is done using technology. After all, much of the communication today happens through technology (instead of in person) – email, social networks, text messaging, phone conversations, video chats, and more.
• Better Research Skills: As children grow and move to the higher classes in school, much of the research happens using technology. Early exposure to electronics & technology makes kids get better at research, a skill that will help them succeed later in their education and their career.
• Creativity: Certain kits and programs can even ignite your child’s creativity – making cars, helicopters, buildings from building blocks. Designing objects, creating animation and logos, adding filters and various effects to photos (using apps), and more.

Are Smartphones and Tablets Bad for Kids?

Most kids spend considerable amount of time on smartphones and tablets. While there are several educational toys and games that kids an play, parents are not sure if these gadgets are goo or bad for kids.

• Spending lot of time on smartphones, tablets (technology) can hamper language development and could decrease a child’s social skills.
• More use of electronics also means the kids will do less of physical activities, which is not good for their health. Kids should ideally spend at least an hour outdoors everyday – playing sports and doing activities with their friends.
• Overuse of electronic gadgets and video games can also strain the eyes and affect their posture.
• Most electronic games and videos on smartphones and iPads are interactive (more like cause and effect toy) which makes the child attentive. But the same child then finds it difficult to focus in the class in school, where the level of interaction is usually lower.
• Although laptops, smartphones (and other tech) lets you access tons of useful information, it also makes students lazy. Critical thinking skills take a backseat as students are likely to google for answers (for most questions) rather than think.

In the case of growing kids increased screen time is associated with higher rates of childhood obesity; its because kids don’t focus on the eating and tend to over eat.

Its also known to cause behavior problems, ADHD, poor physical activity, all of these in turn result in poor school performance.

Kids get good at using electronic gadgets quite fast (faster then what most adults think). And if given the choice, they would sit in front of the laptop or in front of the television for hours. That’s where parents need to pitch in.

So the best thing to do is to have some rules around their use.

• Put limitations on screen time
  Limit the use of gadgets (screen time). Say around 1-2 hours of screen time every day (includes smartphones, tablets and even TV).

   

• Avoid taking your phone or iPad on the bed (no TV in bedroom)
  Its better to spend the time doing some reading along with your child to promote early language development and literacy. Screen time at bedtime disturbs sleep patterns resulting in behavior problems.

   

• No electronics on dinner table
  Make your dinner table a electronics-free zone, which means no smartphone, no tablet on the table, and no watching TV while dining (very difficult in certain cultures, where dinner happens wile watching their favorite TV soaps or movies). That time can be well spent on conversing with your child, knowing how his/her day was.

   

• Set aside play time and get interactive with your children
  Spend some time with your kids the old-fashioned way. Play with your kids, read them stories, take them outdoors.

Allow Kids to Use Electronics Wisely

Now that you know about the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’, you should let your kids use electronics wisely so that they can benefit greatly from technology.

Technology can help ignite your child’s mind, and help him/her learn useful skills.

Right age to introduce your child to a smartphone or tablet?
Although kids can push buttons and watch videos much earlier, most experts suggest that you wait until your child is at least preschool age, before s/he can start using a smartphone/tablet; avoid screen time for kids below 2.

Research says that Children under two years of age learn best from real-world experiences and interactions, so each minute spent in front of a screen-based device is a minute when your child is not exploring the world and using their senses, which is extremely important in their development process,” says Dr. Carolyn Jaynes.

However, once your child is three years old, s/he can benefit from electronic media with educational content.

Recommended Products
There are several toys and kits available that teach electronics to kids in a intuitive manner. For example, Robotics products like Lego Mindstorms where the various electronic components are available as modules that need to be placed together to form a complex product. The modular structure makes it easy for kids to place the various components together and in the process also helps them understand the electronics behind them.

For older kids, you can consider buying popular single-board computer kits such as the Beagleboard, Raspberry Pi, or Arduino.

Another good product is called Snap Circuits, and it serves as an interesting gift as well for kids. Snap Circuits has easy to follow instructions for kids, and the various circuit components snap together very easily like Legos making it easy for kids to assemble the circuits. You can make simple projects (Electric Light with a Switch) and move onto making advanced projects where your kids can start playing with more advanced circuits.

There are several different kits available and we are currently using the SC-300 which comes with 300 projects.

All of these serve as great introduction for kids to electronics. Traditionally electronics classes are also a great way to start building simple circuits with batteries, light bulbs, and motors. However, these kits are highly recommended for kids and is a great way to teach them basics of electronics.

Electronics for kids (Useful Links)
A fun alien project:
http://blog.arduino.cc/2015/05/18/manipulate-your-voice-with-mimic-monster/

Urge kids to be inventors, not users:
https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/05/19/the-github-for-kids-urges-them-to-be-inventors-not-users-makereducation/

New kind of school in Silicon Valley:
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/altschool/