When is too young for technology? The time we live in now has advanced in technology unlike any other time in history. The age of people most involved in technology has also shifted. Technology is addicting and consuming, and one of the biggest parenting mistakes is letting children have electronics at a very early age.

If you go to a restaurant or store and see a family with kids, you will most likely see the young children and toddlers with an iPad or some sort of device. Parents give their kids devices to pre-occupy them so they will be quiet and behave. I have seen children throw wild tantrums over “their iPad.” Kids don’t play with the simple toys that kids used to love; the toys that taught eye-hand coordination and didn’t control childrens’ behavior and emotions.

It is important to be up to date and  good with technology because of the relevancy to people’s lives and jobs it will always continue to have. However, learning how to use devices by the age of three isn’t going to make a child smarter. Electronics can make children lazy and not want to be productive at a young age. Kids with iPads will obviously rather play their games than swing on a swing set or ride their bikes.

Society today has become attached to their phones, but that is just an effect of the great technological advancements that have been made. While this is just reality, kids shouldn’t join society being unattached to the world and people around them because of their cell phones. I’ve seen kids as young as seven years old with smart phones. No child can be responsible enough for a phone at this age. Along with having cell phones, young kids are also starting to have social media accounts. This exposes them to things they and their parents cannot control. Teenagers are usually not even responsible enough to have social media. At too young of an age, kids become mindful of the likes and attention they may get on social media and let that reflect how they feel about their self. Children can see too much about the world with electronic devices by using the Internet.

While I am not a parent and don’t have to handle noisy and hyper kids every day, I do see wrongs in electronics with kids. Devices often have more negative than positive effects on children and families.

Technology is a great thing, but it can have negative effects on young children. Kids need to be learning and seeing the world instead of glued to their electronics. Electronics age kids and don’t let them just be kids.