5 great educational apps your kids will love (part 1)

January 25, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Android, apps, brain pop jr, Children, clifford, educational apps, fun, iPhone, stack the states, wordworld

Brain Pop Jr.’s characters.

I’m kind of an old-fashioned dad to my three children. I’d rather them play outdoors than indoors, and I want them to read books instead of watch TV.

But I do like to use smartphone and tablet apps, in moderation, for learning. My oldest son has learned quite a bit from educational apps, and I’m always looking out for new ones that can help him learn something else.

We’ve tried dozens of apps – deleting many of them – and we only keep ones that have education and fun at their core. Typically, we pay a dollar or two for them.

In this first part of a multi-part series, here are five that have stood out. All are available on iPhone and most on Android devices. Continue reading →

The reason boredom is actually good for children

January 7, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Archibald hart, Children, digital invasion, focus on the family, Parents, protecting your child, Sylvia hart frejd, video games

As it turns out, “I’m bored, Mom” could be one of the best things a parent can hear.

That’s the conclusion of counselor and author Archibald Hart, who believes that our media-crazed, constantly stimulated culture is harming the creativity and imagination of children. Hart and his daughter, Sylvia Hart Frejd, appeared on Focus on The Family’s radio broadcast recently, and if you have children who play video games or desire to do so, I’d encourage you to listen. And after you do, you just might pick up your child and flee the next time someone hands him or her that Wii controller.

The theme of the broadcast (which is in two parts) is “Protecting Your Child From the Digital Invasion.” They say parents should avoid flocking to media every time their child is looking for something to do. When kids are bored, Hart says, they are forced to use their imagination.

Among their somewhat shocking conclusions: Continue reading →

Turn it off: 6 reasons not to let children watch television

September 6, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged alternatives to tv, American Academy of Pediatrics, better things to do, Children, families, Parents, PBS, reading a book, Television, too much tv, turn the tv off, tv, tv is addictive

The other day, my wife and I – needing a break — picked two random people off the street and asked if they could babysit our three children for 30 minutes. We thought they’d charge a lot on such a short notice, but, believe it or not, they did it for free. Well, sort of. They wanted to show our kids a few products they were selling, and they also wanted to tell them a bunch of things we disagreed with. It sounded crazy, but, hey, they’d done this before, and, besides, they said, all the parents were doing it.

Of course, I made all of that up.

But don’t we do this very thing every time we let our children watch a television program we know little about? It’s essentially random people with (too often) an unbiblical worldview trying to sell our children something they don’t need. No part of that is good.

My family does have a television in our house, and we do let our oldest (who is 5) watch it, but the TV is not on all the time. In fact, when he’s awake, it’s mostly off. He gets to watch some educational shows, a tad-bit of simply fun shows, and from time to time a show his Mommy and Daddy enjoy. But he’s under the national average for TV viewing – children ages 2-5 spend an average of 32 hours a week in front of the tube, according to Nielsen. His twin sister and brother (who are 1) don’t get to watch TV at all.

Continue reading →

6 reasons to break that iPhone addiction — and play more with your kids

August 20, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Android, Apple, Bible, Children, Father, iPhone, iPhone addiction, kids, mother, parenting, Smartphone, smartphone addiction, YouTube

Perhaps I should have seen it coming. My 5-year-old son and I were getting on our bicycles, preparing to take a leisurely ride down the road, when he gave me an ultimatum.

“Dad, don’t get on your phone one bit.”

A dozen things entered my mind. Can I go 30 minutes without looking at my iPhone? What if, during one of our stops, I want to check my email or look at the latest news on Twitter, or even open the Weather Channel app when I see that dark cloud on the horizon?

“OK,” I said.

So for 30 minutes we rode down the road, had a pleasant time, and I survived.

Humans always have had distractions from the more important things in life, but I sometimes wonder if smartphones — through the marvel of technology – have compiled every distraction into one handy handheld device. They’re tiny portals into the entire world, with a seemingly infinite amount of possibilities.

Continue reading →