Babies and Computers Washington DC

Open Sesame Kids
240-715-2905
10404 Welshire Drive
Upper Marlboro, MD

Kids Are Us Learning Center
(202) 562-7118
800 Southern Ave., SE #110
Washington, DC

Sunshine Early Learning Center, Inc.
(202) 561-1100
4224 6th St., SE
Washington, DC

E.C. Mazique Parent Child Center, Inc
(202) 462-3375
1719 13th St., NW
Washington, DC

GAP Community Childcare Center
(202) 462-3636
3636 16th St., NW
Washington, DC

Sacoto Pediatrics
703-820-1951
5555 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA

Bliss Marriage & Parenting
(202) 265-2547
1338 N Capitol St NW
Washington, DC

Silverman Philip J
(202) 822-0078
3 Washington Cir NW
Washington, DC

National Black Child Development Institute
(202) 833-2220
1101 15th St NW
Washington, DC

Hubbard Dianetics Foundation
(202) 797-7331
1701 20th St NW
Washington, DC

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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