Tablets are popular in preschools and they relieve many parents in their everyday life. There are a number of apps that teach math, language and many other skills, and they can have a positive impact on children’s development. Now Swedish research shows a negative side of touch screens.
Creative play prepares children for adulthood
Robin Samuelsson is a researcher in Nordic languages at Uppsala University and, together with his colleagues, has carried out a study with preschool children, to compare play with tablets and regular play with toys.
– Our study shows that children are not creative with tablets in the same way as they are in other games, says Robin Samuelsson.
Most researchers in Robin’s field agree that it is very important for children to play creatively. The creative play has now been shown to strongly contribute to the children’s future being better.
– This type of play is not just about childhood, but prepares children for school and for becoming adults, says Robin Samuelsson.
Robots instead of tablets
According to Robin Samuelsson, there are already good alternatives to screens that still allow children to develop their digital abilities.
– We are currently looking at programming robots as a way to work digitally at the preschool, albeit without screens. It’s something people are very interested in internationally as well, says Robin Samuelsson.
Play the video to see the kids playing with the programming robots.