Use iPads to educate kids

PARENTS should use iPads and smartphones to educate their children rather than simply letting them play games, says British Education Secretary Damian Hinds.

He called on families to use technology more “positively” amid fears that children are spending too much time glued to their screens.

Experts have previously warned that some parents are using tablet devices as an easy way to keep children quiet.

Meanwhile, children are turning up to school unable to speak properly or understand basic commands because of lack of practice at home.

Hinds has commissioned a panel of experts to compile a list of apps that promote child development, especially among under-fives.

It will be the first government-approved list of education apps, and 20 000 disadvantaged families will get free access to them as part of a pilot project. Hinds said: “No parent has all the answers. Our children are growing up in a constantly changing world and it is hard to keep up.

“And when it comes to children and technology, that’s where a manual can be helpful, but it’s difficult to navigate, and often expensive, so I want to support parents of all backgrounds to feel able to embrace its benefits and use it in a measured, sensible way.

“Some (apps) are really good, and lots are not. It’s really difficult as a parent to know which is which,” he said.

Hinds hoped that offering the apps to disadvantaged families would reduce the literacy gap between rich and poor. On average, disadvantaged children aged five were already four months behind. This can be reversed if parents help children learn speaking and listening skills at home before starting school. – Daily Mail