71
votes
What can I do to a 6-month-old child so she ends up smart and has a high IQ?
At six months old, the key is to talk a lot, and to give the baby lots of opportunities to explore their environment. One approach that worked well for us was to follow the Montessori approach to ...
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70
votes
Accepted
How to handle my little brother's addiction to videogames?
This is anecdotal but...
Throughout highschool my life was: wake-up, go to school, come home, game, go to bed, repeat. As I developed other hobbies, I did those instead of gaming. As money to buy ...
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61
votes
9-year-old received tablet as gift, but he does not have the self-control or maturity to own a tablet
Let's recap the question from a more objective viewpoint... as right now the premise for the actions which have been taken seem to be incorrect (at best.)
The boy has been behaving well academically ...
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59
votes
Why is technology bad for children?
First, setting some baselines. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limited, but not zero, screen time for most children above 2. Under 2, and in particular under 18 months, no screen time ...
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42
votes
Accepted
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
To some degree, kids need you to act interested when you aren't; you can't fully avoid their 'boring' talk without it leaving them feeling unheard or unappreciated. There have already been two great ...
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41
votes
Accepted
Should I show my six month old educational videos?
Too many stimuli can be harmful to a baby. Here's a few articles 1, 2 - or just google overstimulation and check for yourself.
In general it is not recommended for children below 18 months to have any ...
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41
votes
What can I do to a 6-month-old child so she ends up smart and has a high IQ?
Turn off the TV and interact with your child
If your IQs are so high, use that intelligence. You can't make a child more clever. That's built in, by nature. What you want are skills they can develop ...
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39
votes
Accepted
Too much computer?
Let me expand on my pithy comment above.
It sounds like your son has taken an active interest in programming. I too spent "hours and hours" doing exactly the same sorts of things that it sounds like ...
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36
votes
Accepted
9-year-old received tablet as gift, but he does not have the self-control or maturity to own a tablet
From a more general angle. We allow kids in the family to use tablets, but of course this is under supervision.
There is a dedicated docking station where the tablets are.
Tablets must be used ...
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35
votes
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
You don't have to be interested in the subject. Nobody is interested in everything in a conversation. But if you back up a level and think about teaching your kids how to interact with people, that ...
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31
votes
How to handle my little brother's addiction to videogames?
Are you looking at an addiction, or at a symptom, or just a hobby?
--- EDIT ---
In 2018, after this post was made, ICD-11 was published with "6C51 Gaming Disorder" as a diagnosis. And — yes —...
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31
votes
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
First: show an interest, but do it authentically, when you can. Listen to their conversation about Minecraft, and listen well enough that you can ask intelligent questions. This is a useful skill ...
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28
votes
Limit access to screens (phone, computer) to my kids, whereas I benefitted from "no limit" during my own childhood
My situation is very similar to what you describe: we have multiple kids — one of whom is 9, one slightly older, and one slight younger — I grew up with mostly "unlimited" computer access (...
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23
votes
How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?
This might help you. Or not, but it doesn't hurt to try:
See if you can change your mindset.
You don't have to listen to your kids talk about their current favourite thing. You get to listen to them ...
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22
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Limit access to screens (phone, computer) to my kids, whereas I benefitted from "no limit" during my own childhood
In addition to all the other answers, I'd like to concentrate on the addictive behavior you described.
Gaming addiction is just as real as drug addiction and very dangerous because many games, ...
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21
votes
Should I show my six month old educational videos?
Do not show videos to infants. The current consensus in the scientific community is that for small children, the effects of screen time are overwhelmingly negative. There are few, if any, positive ...
- 5,158
19
votes
Should I play Minecraft with my kids?
Yes, you absolutely should
Your boys are trying to share something valuable and important with you. I doubt you'd be this worried about it if it wasn't digital - what would you do if they wanted to ...
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19
votes
Limit access to screens (phone, computer) to my kids, whereas I benefitted from "no limit" during my own childhood
The screen is not the problem.
I believe we're dealing with a XY problem here.
Surely screens are damaging our children irreparably.
Breathe. Relax. Grab a cup of tea and consult the wikipedia list ...
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18
votes
Accepted
Is it ok to play a computer game with a 3yo
The primary reason "screen time" is considered bad for children is that, even when somewhat interactive as games are, it does not stimulate their brain as much as other things do. Kids need all sorts ...
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17
votes
5yr old Addicted to Mobile Devices - Need Advice!
I completely agree with you about it being the challenge for this generation.
In my classroom I used to have to teach low-functioning children how to do tasks and to increase their attention span. I ...
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17
votes
What can I do to a 6-month-old child so she ends up smart and has a high IQ?
Above all else, let her play. In my opinion there is way too much focus on academics in the early years these days, and not enough on creativity and play which are integral to how a child learns ...
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16
votes
9-year-old received tablet as gift, but he does not have the self-control or maturity to own a tablet
What should you do? Nothing, you are not the parent, you just gave a gift that was deemed appropriate by the parents.
You wrote yourself that you didn't have a Nintendo when you were little but all ...
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16
votes
Why is technology bad for children?
There is this German psychiatrist, Prof. Manfred Spitzer, who aggregates research with regards to children and digital device usage, and, inspired by the findings, has written a book of how, he claims,...
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16
votes
Should I show my six month old educational videos?
Just to add some context to the reasons why screen time is bad for babies, and to reasurre you that this isn't some "old people think technology is bad"...
Developmentally, under 18 months ...
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16
votes
Amount of screen time appropriate for a baby?
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that no amount of screen time is appropriate for a child of that age.
From their report on Children and media:
For children younger than 18 months, avoid ...
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13
votes
Accepted
Is there any scientific evidence for TV being intrinsically harmful to children, or is it the loss of what TV replaces that is harmful?
Great question. There are several different reasons one might want to limit TV time for kids, and understanding those reasons can help support informed decisions about when --- and how --- to let kids ...
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13
votes
Limit access to screens (phone, computer) to my kids, whereas I benefitted from "no limit" during my own childhood
As you say in your question, the beneficial part of your access to computers was your early exposure to programming and other productive computer skills, and the part that you are concerned about is ...
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12
votes
Accepted
10 year old's screen time: Studies and/or Government recommendations?
Official Recommendations
The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes policy statements on this topic. The most recent recommendations for the age range in question (school-aged children: 5-18yo) are ...
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12
votes
Accepted
How to stop toddler crying when we watch tv
As far as I understand your are struggling with several things at the same time. If I read you correctly...
After a long day at work you want to disconnect for some time
You are concerned that your ...
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12
votes
What can I do to a 6-month-old child so she ends up smart and has a high IQ?
Including your children in your life and activities builds both intelligence and capacity. Especially for young children, avoid passive activities like videos, or non-human interactions such as ...
- 6,143
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