Babies and Computers Atlanta GA

Stiefel William III MD
404-605-0540
35 Collier RD NW
Atlanta, GA

Peachtree Park Pediatrics
404-351-1131
3193 Howell Mill RD NW
Atlanta, GA

Meyers Joseph Leslie C MD Faap
404-691-4321
2600 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW
Atlanta, GA

It's A Baby!
404-255-2493
4920 Roswell Rd Ste #5
Atlanta, GA

Georgia Pediatric Pulmonology Associates PC
404-252-7339
1100 Lake Hearn DR NE
Atlanta, GA

Kids Time Pediatrics of Perime
404-943-1979
5252 Roswell Rd NE
Atlanta, GA

North Atlanta Pediatrics Assoc
404-256-3178
1100 Lake Hearn DR NE
Atlanta, GA

Pediatric Endocrine Associates PC
404-531-4720
1100 Lake Hearn Dr NE
Atlanta, GA

Jenkins Albert D MD
404-349-6758
2945 Stone Hogan Connector RD SW
Atlanta, GA

Princeton Lakes Pediatrics
404-629-1880
3885 Princeton Lakes Way SW
Atlanta, GA

By Linda Henry

Here's how it starts: You say to yourself, "Why don't I just quickly
check my e-mail while I feed the baby?" In the midst of things, your
baby's little feet strike the keyboard. Suddenly the screen changes and
your little guy abandons the breast or bottle in favor of the tiny
pictures floating in a blue sky, or the brightly colored lines that
move in on themselves in an endless pattern.

Your baby is interested in the same things you are. Like you, he
wants to tap the keyboard and see what happens. Of course, it didn't
take long for software manufacturers to tap into this market. Knowledge
Adventure created JumpStart Baby, which is aimed at infants from 6
months to 2 years. The company calls it "lapware," since it's designed
for babies who are sitting on a parent's lap at the computer.

"Educational" software for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers
introduces concepts such as shapes, colors, counting, and the alphabet.
The problem, says Michael Rich, M.D., a pediatrician at Children's
Hospital in Boston, is that since a baby isn't interacting with the
computer, neurologically the brain is in a passive state. The same goes
for a child watching television. Since neural connections are made
during the first two years of life through live interactions with
caregivers, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that
children under age 2 should not watch any TV. Dr. Rich sees no
difference between a parent clicking a mouse and a Hollywood producer
creating a TV program: Both result in images on a screen that are
passively received.

If you're going to let your kids play on the computer, Dr. Rich
suggests that you play along with them, and judge for yourself the
nature and quality of "interactivity". Set a time limit. Toddlers
should spend no more than 20 minutes at the computer. Time can be
increased as the child gets older, but balance sedentary activity with
larger doses of exercise and live interaction. Especially during the
first two years of life, nothing's more important than relating to
interactive humans.

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