Computers and Young Children

Recent calls for a moratorium on computers in early childhood education programs and elementary schools are an extreme reaction to the challenges posed by technology.

While recognizing that computers are reshaping children's lives in profound and unexpected ways, these calls focus on potential hazards of computers in the classroom. Though we must guard against any such potential hazards, the larger danger is that there are still far too many young children who have little or no access to computers and the Internet.

The children on the other side of this 'digital divide' don't benefit from new educational software, and they don't learn to use tools that will be a central component of our lives for decades to come.

In the end, a computer is a tool, just like a book, a pencil or a television. Computers can be used in developmentally appropriate ways beneficial to children, and like any other tool they can also be misused. There is considerable research pointing to the positive effects of technology on children's learning and development. That research also indicates that computers supplement and do not replace highly valued early childhood activities and materials, such as art, blocks, sand, water, books, exploration with writing materials, and dramatic play.

Rather than issue a moratorium on computers, parents and other adults should examine the impact of this technology on children, and make sure computers are used to their benefit, to develop literacy and cognitive and social skills.

To do that, adults need to take time to understand how children are using technology to learn and to develop new skills. Try going on-line at your child's school or your local library. Learn from your children by asking them about the ways they like to use the computer, and how they log on to the Internet. You may be surprised at how comfortable young children are negotiating this new world. You'll also show them that you care about their hobbies and interests.