Yew Chung International School of Beijing - Computers and your Children

Editor's Notes

• #3 Technology changes at such a rapid pace that often our children are more savvy and aware of how technologies work and their uses than we are. As parents, we need to keep up so we can make informed decisions about what is the best for our children where technology is concerned. It’s difficult to keep up with changing technologies and the reality is that if we are don’t keep up with what our children are doing we lose control. Parents need to be in control of every situation our children encounter and make decisions based on the best available information.
• #4 Children use technologies. Media hype, peer pressure and school (to a lesser extend) all channel our children towards use of computers and technology. There is hardly a facet of our children’s lives that are not touched by the use of technology. It’s our approach to their uses that will form life long patterns and habits and either set our children up for failure or success.
• #5 It’s vital for children to feel like they belong. Using or not using the the latest gadget or having up to date technologies in your home will effect your children. Recently, in the UK the famous British chef Jamie Oliver banned his children from using any form of social media as he was concerned about the issues surrounding cyber bullying. They put so much pressure on him that he had to reverse his decision. In order for our children to fit in we walk a very fine line when it comes to knowing when to say no.
• #6 So having accepted the fact that no matter how we feel or think about using technology in our homes and allowing our children to use it, we have to consider what is acceptable use. It’s the “content” of computer games and entertainment media and what we allow our children to be exposed to that will make the difference. Many video games and TV Shows rely on violence as a means to entertain our children. The relationship to watching violent games or shows is that after viewing violent games or being exposed to violent images are children are more likely to act violently themselves.
• #7 This graph illustrates how two groups of children reacted after playing violent games. One group of children were naturally more placid (low hostile) and the other group were naturally more excitable (high hostility).Both groups of children involved in the study had a higher incidence of behaving violently or engaging in acts of violence after playing violent games, even the passive group of children (low hostile). This group reacted more violently after playing a high hostility game. Children who were naturally high hostility were 63% more likely to engage in violent behaviour after playing game with high violence content.
• #8 This next graph that illustrates how the more violent the game is the more likely children are to behave violently after playing them. Games with no violence had a calming effect on children. Children watching a game with no violence were seen to be less violent after playing the game. The children’s behaviours were measured before and after playing different types of games. As you can clearly see the more blood in the game the more violent the children became after playing the game.
• #9 The nature of social media for entertainment purposes and gaming has a negative effect when it comes to stereotyping of women. Almost 90% of game developers are men which results in games being created that have a male mindset in the context of the content. If we are interested in our sons being liberated from sexual stereotyping when it comes to understanding women’s role in the 21st century then we need to consider the effects playing games that stereotype women will have on their thinking. Conversely so, for our daughters playing game, there is a strong message being sent to them in terms of their roles in society.
• #10 Allowing children the opportunity to play games has additional health issues that perhaps are not obviously evident. Emotional distress, anxiety and even depression in children is becoming can occur. We need to watch for signs in our children to make sure that any unwanted effects of playing games is noted. Remember, the nature of games is to make them as addictive as possible so children want to play them. Game designers see this as a vital part of the game when they are designing and developing them.
• #11 What is considered too much. Every parent will need to make this decision for themselves and no situations will be the same, however, if children play games for more than 4 hours a day that is considered an addiction. Put this fact into the adult world-if an adult were to behave in a social setting and do something for 4 hours a day we, as as adults would consider this a problem. You might argue and say people can watch TV for 4 hours a day and we don’t consider this to be an addiction. That’s because there is no repetitive pattern in TV viewing. It may become a habit, but TV watching is not addictive. People who are not addicted don’t forgo other activities to exclusively focus on just one thing, which is what computer addicts will do.
• #12 Children who are “logged on” on for long periods of time become disengaged with reality. Logging on means zoning out and losing connection to the real world.
• #13 Parenting our children means ensuring that we raise healthy kids. Being active and having a good mix of diverse activities to keep our children busy helps to keep things in perspective. Exercise, school, sports, social activities with friends and family should all be a part of any healthy child’s life. Just like adults, children need a variety of balanced activities to ensure there is a good mixture of outlets for health and interest.
• #14 Sitting for long periods of time and a sedentary lifestyle will lead to weight gain. Children are not a exception to this. Fast foods, take away meals and limited exercise are all contributors to weight gain. The implications for associated health risks are obvious. Children need exercise as a part of a balanced and healthy life style. Parents need to consider these facts. If we allow our children to sit for long periods of time with no exercise we are allowing them to develop bad habits which they will take into adulthood with them.
• #15 Computers and how they are used vary greatly from person to person. It’s all about what you use them for that makes the difference. Access to a computer will not make you any smarter, but what you use the computer for can help you gain information which means you are more informed - which will make things easier to understand. It all depends on what you do with your computer.
• #16 All schools, and here specifically here at YCIS Beijing, we are becoming increasingly dependent on computer usage. This illustration shows us that technologies drive almost all our learning experiences here at school. Our reliance on and our ability to access information from the technologies we use here at school is becoming increasingly important. This illustration shows quite clearly that there is hardly a facet of school life that does not involve technology. In the future we will see the global divide between rich and poor counties will depend on access to technology. Those who have technology will move ahead exponentially while those who don’t have it will be left behind. Access to technologies will separate rich and poor like nothing else ever has. For this reason alone it is essential that we promote necessary skills our children will use in terms of technology and keep them up to date.
• #17 Everything your child does it is of importance to you. Using the computer, the games they play, who they chat to and how long they spend doing these things are all dependent on you giving your approval. Nothing happens by accident. Be proactive and stay in the loop when it comes to your child’s use of computers.