My daughter turned 5 this weekend. Five years old! I can’t figure out how the time has passed so quickly. Although she is the (prettier) spitting image of her father, she is Mama’s little girl. When the tears flow, when things aren’t happening the way she expects, it’s usually Mama that she looks for. And as often as not, when there are tears, I usually know what it’s about without asking. I get her. Which is not the case for my younger daughter. But she turns three in two weeks and there will be time to blog about that some other day.
We decided that B should have an iPod for her birthday. I found a purple iPod Nano (8 gig) and matching purple headphones. There were several family members who were shocked by this choice. “I don’t have an iPod,” my sister-in-law noted. [That's her loss, in my opinion.] There will be those who think B is too young or too irresponsible. There will be some who believe this was a far too extravagant gift for a 5 year old. Perhaps. But I wanted her present to be special, something that she would value, and something she will learn from.
But this tool is not all about her sitting in the backseat with her headphones on ignoring us, her parents. There are so many opportunities for her to learn with this technology. She can “read” her books as she listens to them. There are many podcasts created with young children in mind. I’ve downloaded some stories and some music that she likes. She already knew how to use the controls from using my iPod from time to time. We’re laying down the guidelines for when she can listen, when she has to shut it off. I’ve locked the volume so she can’t play it too loud and damage her hearing. She is teaching her sister how to hold it carefully and how to turn it on and off.
I don’t want my girls to wait to use technology until they already “know how.” I want them learning and developing as they use iPods and laptops and digital cameras. Yes, I recognize that they are young and that the technology needs to be sturdy enough for them to handle, and occasionally to drop. But I don’t want to keep them from the tools that I take for granted in my life simply because they don’t yet know how to handle them. I want to be the one setting the guidelines, explaining the rules, modeling responsible use. I want to be a part of this digital landscape that my daughters are living in, and I want them to take full advantage of the opportunities they can have because of it.
Is 5 too young for an iPod? I don’t think so. What do you think? Do you have favorite podcasts for pre-K and kindergarten age children? How do you think young children should learn from technology?
5 too young? I don’t think so, and feel it comes to down to the type of content, and the balance of use relative to the other activities of the child. Many contemporary studies use the term “total screen time” as a way of evaluating and examining the time children spend on a multitude of information devices (tv, ipod, computers, etc.), and I don’t think that’s a bad way of thinking about it. We don’t worry about a child reading too much, but we should pay attention to the interactivity or passivity of the applications and devices children use … I believe that’s important.
Thanks for your question, it’s an important one, and certainly one more parents should be asking.
I think there may be a few “bigger” issues here. For example, one might differentiate between “giving” an iPod to a 5-year-old and simply allowing her to use yours. This could be seen as questioning the responsibility at such a young age.
Yet another question is…”How is an iPod different from a cd player or radio?” This may relate to the issue I just mentioned, but it is just a listening device, right? You might have even placed a CD player in your daughter’s room already to help her sleep at night. How is this different from an iPod? Again, it may be putting an iPod in her hands on a daily basis that is sparking your personal controversy. The same questioning happens in schools that consider 1:1 initiatives. Students using computers at school is not too terribly new, but the potential for students to use them in every class and in some cases to take them home is where the push back begins.
When my daughter was 5, we gave her my wife’s 1st gen. iPod Shuffle (the “gum stick” version). She loved it! It was “just enough” for her at that time – volume up/down, move left/right in the play list. This year, she’s 7 now, we “upgraded” her to a 2nd gen iPod Nano (refurb. from ecost.com). She loves this one now, too, and it gives her more control over song selection, and even a few games!
I’m sure, as the daughter of a techie, she’ll “need” an iPod Touch soon! (Where do the years go?!?!)
I would say you know the child better than these other people. It sounds like she’s ready- able to use it, wanting the programs, etc. We adults need to get used to being behind small children- just like immigrants, we aren’t as savvy as kids are in the new language/technology. I would maybe be concerned about losing it and safeguard (not taking it places on her own at first? keeping it in certain places, etc)
I am concerned about the security of her iPod – and we have told her that she is not to bring it to school. Right now, it is new enough that I am confident she won’t break that rule. But when kindergarten comes around in the fall, we will have to revisit the conversation. Thank you for your comment.
I think I may be the lone dissenter here.
I think this is a question of attention and perception. Most children at that age do not have sufficient mental abilities (nor should they) to truly differentiate the two. That is to say, all too often, children at a young age do not know how to *not* follow all of the stimulus around them with their attention.
For example, you and I know how to ignore certain external stimuli, as well as distracting internal stimuli (i.e. thoughts) when we are concentrating on something else. Children do not. Often, attention and perception are not separate at such a young age. This is common, and not bad.
Children tend to learn this in the structured environment of school since school expects a child to not necessarily follow their attention everywhere it wants to go.
Also, I would argue that children at her age should be involved almost exclusively in imaginative play. It is in the context of re purposing everyday items into different items (i.e. the broom into a horse) that higher order cognitive abilities form at a young age. This is a crucial step that is often usurped by screen time.
Now I am terribly hypocritical of this, as I am working on a project and my girls are watching Dora. So I am not practicing what I preach as much as I ought, but nonetheless it is an arguable position.
So, is it bad to give her an iPod? No, not necessarily.
I guess the question becomes, it is a good thing?
I question that.
First, how much can she really learn at that age? Not a whole lot, I’d argue. The reason being, she does not have a sufficient set of cognitive schema through which to analyze new information. So, without a constructed lens through which to view new information, it will all seem a bit foreign.
Not only that, I suspect there isn’t much she *should* learn from an iPod at that age that she wouldn’t be better served by interacting with an adult.
Now, give her an iPod so she can listen to her music when she wants to? Sure.
But to give her an iPod because it is specifically a learning tool? Not so sure I buy that.
But then, it may just be me.
Chris
Chris, Thank you for your thoughtful response. Your position is convincing to me. I appreciate your perspective on cognitive development as both an educator and a father. Perhaps my argument of the iPod as a learning tool is false for what I really intend for my daughter. In many ways, I think of her iPod like the record player I used to listen to when I was not much older than she is now. An iPod is a modern means of entertainment and hopefully an inspiration for further imaginative play for my daughter.
I guess I’m not sure where the challenge is. Are the relatives concerned about the monetary value of the item? Kids are around lots more expensive things (often belonging to other people) that are easier to destroy.
I honestly wouldn’t think of an iPod nano as a device for learning, and I can’t imagine a podcast being a justification for giving it to a child. To me, that seems no better than plopping them in front of a filmstrip, or listening to a storybook tape. I don’t have a problem with it as an entertainment device. My son started using the iPod Touch when he was 1, and I don’t really think of it as something that either enhances or hurts his learning. It’s just another piece of the puzzle.
Given the spin of the device as an entertainment device (more along the lines with its intended purpose anyway) then I think you’re right on track.
I suppose you can put on it whatever you want, I guess we’ll see what she wants to hear when she can pick the tracks herself.
Chris
I think the really interesting part of this post is not wondering if it is appropriate for a 5yo to have an ipod but rather our need as parents to qualify everything with — “but it can help them learn”.
Yesterday my kids hauled buckets of water to their sandbox, made a soupy mess and proceeded to smear wet sand all over each other. Learning activity? Maybe — I suppose they learned their mother is not happy when you clomp through the house covered in wet sand to use the bathroom. Pure silly, giggle inducing fun? Absolutely.
Sometimes there is a lot of learning that happens in that sandbox. Cities are made and destroyed. Properties of wet sand vs dry sand are explored. Volcanoes imagined. The art of settling disputes of who’s side of the sandbox is who’s are negotiated. It truly is an amazing little space.
When we built the sandbox there was no mention that we would be sure to limit the “silly” activities that can happen there in favour of ones that would help them learn. We just dumped some clean sand in, gave them good toys to explore with, minimal safety rules and stepped back.
I think as parents we are a bit afraid to say “I got my child an iPod so that they could play, giggle and have fun with it” — but we should say it without apology and without the “learning” qualifier. Inside that metal case is just another amazing little space to explore. Sometimes that exploration will be chock full of learning and sometimes it will consist of mindlessly smearing wet sand around. The trick is to step back and be OK with that …. a trick that this old dog is still trying to learn!
Definitely not too young. My son started exploring with the cd player in his room when he was 18 months. At two, he could manipulate all of the controls on it, so we bought him his own. He still loves it — especially putting his favorite songs on repeat. Lately, he’s been exploring our iPod, and it seems as if getting him one is the next logical step.