Parenting in the Digital Age

Toy company funds research suggesting educational development can be hindered by early formal schooling. So are UK schools getting it wrong?



Parents are squeezing the role of play out of their children’s lives in favour of the three ‘R’s as they try to prepare their offspring for a competitive world, according to the head of Lego’s education charity arm.

A lack of understanding of the value of play is prompting parents and schools alike to reduce it as a priority, says Hanne Rasmussen, head of the Lego Foundation. If parents and governments push children towards numeracy and literacy earlier and earlier, it means they miss out on the early play-based learning that helps to develop creativity, problem-solving and empathy, she says.

According to Rasmussen, the evidence for play-based learning has built enormously over the last decade, but parents don’t know about it. “Both in the formal education system and in the homes of children, the focus on the value of play is rather limited. That’s really something we want to work on – to improve the understanding of the value of play and what play really can do, where more and more it is squeezed by a desire both from the formal system and from parents that children should learn specific literacy and numeracy quite early.” Advertisement

The intervention by Rasmussen directly challenges the knowledge-based, heavily tested approach to schooling favoured by the UK government – and questioned by many education practitioners.



The 29-year-old Lego Foundation, generously funded with a quarter of Lego’s post-tax profits, is beginning to flex its muscles. Where once it quietly dished out cash – and bricks – to lots of small projects, it has set its sights on campaigning for a mindset change in education around the world. “Our contribution to the world is to challenge the status quo by redefining play and reimagining learning,” says the foundation’s mission statement.

Part of the mission involves putting £4m into a new “Lego professorship” at Cambridge University – the first incumbent will be chosen in April – and supporting an accompanying Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal). There are more links with Harvard, MIT and other prestigious institutions. The aim is to provide an incontrovertible academic underpinning to the educational value of play, and to define more clearly what works and how to measure it, arming Lego with more evidence to support its campaigning.

Read more theguardian.com

Children as young as five should be treated for depression using smartphone therapy, NHS watchdogs have ruled.



The new advice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) says all children and young people suffering from mild depression should be offered “cognitive behavioural therapy” - delivered via mobile phones and tablets.

The guidance, for identifying and managing depression in children and young people aged five to 18, says online therapy and courses in mindfulness should be the first options for treatment of mild cases.

Nice said the programmes meant children could get faster access to psychological help, avoiding long waiting lists.

GPs will be able to recommend digital CBT programmes, which can be accessed via smartphones, computers and tablets.

Such programmes use interactive games, animations, quizzes, puzzles and interactive games, with questions to identify dysfunctional thinking and tasks to help challenge negative thoughts.

Other modules look at developing coping strategies, setting goals and finding ways to improve self esteem.

Some programmes alert children identified as having potentially suicidal thoughts to go back to their doctor or counsellor for more help.



The new guidance also recommends group cognitive behavioural therapy, and group sessions of mindfulness training as first-line treatments.

Nice said that these, along with digital options, should be offered by GPs and other health professionals if children had continuing symptoms of mild depression, but did not have suicidal thoughts or other significant health conditions.

Children should be given a choice of treatments, officials said.

And Nice said healthcare professionals working in schools as well as at GP practices should be trained to detect symptoms of depression in children as young as five.

The guidance has been fast-tracked amid warnings that the NHS has been left “picking up the pieces” of an epidemic of mental health problems, fuelled by social media.

Read more telegraph.co.uk

I have this puzzle too.



I used it gradually. At first, to learn to place them in shape. Later I used it to learn the colors. At the end we used it to learn geometric shapes.



It is recommended that we adapt our requirements to the age of children. We first learn simple elements. Then difficult elements.

Winter is the most beautiful season for children. If you have the courage to go out and you know how to play with the kids.



You can go skiing. Beginners or advanced. If these locations are too far from your home you can go out in the park. Choose some toys and play in the snow with them.



Winter is not an enemy of health. He is a friend.

“Is it true that Silicon Valley tech executives don’t let their kids use screens?” I was on the East Coast speaking with parents and once again was asked the question I can’t seem to escape.



I’ve observed with curiosity the ongoing buzz about how Silicon Valley parents — particularly those who are technology executives and investors — keep their children off screens. These stories tend to create low-grade anxiety as well as a parent-shaming aimed at those who let their kids use screens.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked as an educational consultant focused on executive-functioning issues with tweens and teens in an office about five miles from Google’s, Facebook’s and Apple’s main campuses. More than a thousand middle school and high school students have walked into my office over the years — including those whose parents are technology CEOs, executives, venture capitalists and other investors — to discuss their work habits, distractions and the effects of everyday technology in their lives.



It’s no secret that social media and technology use have become a hot topic nationwide — especially because there has been little research into the relationship between teens' technology and social media use and long-term brain development and mental wellness. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the launch of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which will track more than 11,000 teens to investigate factors that influence young people, including the impact of screen use on brain development. Research has linked digital media use to poorer sleep quality and duration, which, as sleep researcher Matthew Walker notes in his book “Why We Sleep,” can easily affect focus, concentration, mood and mental well-being.

Read more washingtonpost.com

Even if we live in a smart age, we love wood toys. I think a child who has wooden toys will respect nature later. His world will not be just plastic and gadgets. His world will also be formed from trees, rivers and excursions in nature.

The wooden toy that I recommend today has two educational methods. In the first row, the child helps to learn how to control their fingers. He must place the pieces on the wooden columns. Secondly, it helps him learn the first 4 digits and basic geometric forms.

According to the latest parenting studies, a complex notion is taught to the mummy if it has a joyful memory.









Take this opportunity and order now this toy for your baby.

Paris is without a doubt one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, and every year families relocate and settle down in the City of Light. Those families may adore visiting the Louvre, Parc de la Villette and other child-friendly destinations, but inevitably one day, those families will be confronted with the need to access digital destinations.



I know, as incredible as it may seem, even children in museum-rich Paris want to play with tablets, smartphones, and computers. Bienvenue to the Digital Age!

But not to worry, Paris has many organizations and associations to help digital parents who have yet to master French or cyberspace. To get you started in the right direction, here are some useful pointers to start you and your kids on a rewarding digital experience in Paris.

Quick tips for Parisian digital parents

- Yes, your children will pick up the language of Molière faster than you can translate ‘lickety-split’ to French. And that will now include French Internet slang. Before arriving in France, your teen may have written a text message ending with LMAO but now you will see MDR (mort de rire). And it doesn’t stop there, so keep a running dialogue with your children.
- Age of consent in France is 15. That is not a typo. 15. See Article 227-25 of the French Penal Code for more jaw-dropping legal facts. So if you see your 16-year-old darling daughter texting or instant messaging that 25-year-old guy down the street, get the “safe tech – safe sex” conversation started because this is a new town with new rules.
- In France, Internet Service Providers provide free parental controls and even explain how you can install parental controls on tablets and smartphones. Read up on your provider website or stop by your local boutique.
- Talk to your school’s parents association about holding a digital parenting evening, or just set up a coffee session to talk with other parents. You will be reassured to know that you are not alone.
- Set up a digital parenting training session or workshop with e-enfance for your school or parent association.



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Source: inspirelle.com