Babies and Computers Tampa FL

Canody Christina J MD
813-879-5716
5124 N Armenia Ave
Tampa, FL

Pediatric Endocrine Association
813-874-1742
3003 W DR Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Tampa, FL

WWW.BELLINITAMPA.COM
813-287-9211
4545 W.KENNEDY BLVD
TAMPA, FL

All Kids Pediatrics
813-984-6200
5415 E Busch Blvd
Tampa, FL

Barriga Julia MD PA
813-984-8846
5001 E Busch Blvd
Tampa, FL

Sams Monica Rosenthal DO
813-988-5141
11410 N 56th St
Tampa, FL

Yakubu Elizabeth MD Faap
813-914-7772
11464 N 53rd St
Tampa, FL

Hughes Teena MD PA
813-903-0060
4444 E Fletcher Ave
Tampa, FL

Zwarych Alyssa R M D
813-792-1113
10840 Sheldon RD
Tampa, FL

After Hours Pediatrics Inc
813-910-8888
15043 Bruce B Downs Blvd
Tampa, FL

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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