ParentTech Roundup | Feb 19 2018
Welcome to our ParentTech Roundup: A weekly collection of the most interesting news about child development and new products for tech-savvy parents.
💬 Back-and-forth exchanges boost children’s brain response to language (MIT)
MIT and Harvard cognitive scientists have found that conversation between an adult and a child appears to change the child’s brain.
The important thing is not just to talk to your child, but to talk with your child. It’s not just about dumping language into your child’s brain, but to actually carry on a conversation with them. — Rachel Romero, lead researcher
Why is this important? This is the first such detailed study to give researchers and parents the first such strong evidence that among the various known indicators of a child’s development (like number and quality of words they hear) it is the number of engaged conversations that parents have with children which directly impact the physiology of a child’s growing brain.
👨👦 Fathers’ Stress May Have A Surprising Impact On Their Children’s Brain Development (Romper)
We already knew from multiple research that factors like maternal postpartum depression can affect child’s cognitive development, mainly due to less interactions they have with the toddler and lower consistency in setting limits. However the latest study from researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that a father’s stress level could affect the brain development of the baby.
The changes involve the sperm’s microRNA, a genetic material that helps determine which genes become functional proteins. These proteins then impact brain development and could make the children more vulnerable to stress and conditions like PTSD.
🤔 Facebook Messenger for Kids goes live (FirstPost)
This just happened — Facebook for Kids is now live for all Android phone users in the US, focusing on children below 13 years.
The new app launched amidst the recent controversies around Facebook’s privacy concerns and a new trend among Silicon Valley parents deciding to raise kids tech-free.
What are some of the key features that Facebook for Kids offers?
- Parents control the contact list of the app and can remove contacts from the app
- Parents need to authorise the child’s account through their own account
- Messages do not disappear to allow parents to keep an eye on conversations
- No ads, no in-app purchases
- Children can report others users and the app will automatically notify parents
- Access to themed masks, stickers, seasonal frames, stickers, GIFs and emojis to allow for creative expression
We’d love to hear what you think — would you let your child use it? What are the pros and cons? Let us know your thoughts in the comments
🚀 ParentTech of the week: Osmo
This week we’re loving Osmo — a game system that makes it more interactive for kids to play with an iPhone and iPad, bridging between the virtual and real world. Apart from their range of products for families, Osmo has also been adopted in over 25,000 schools in 42 countries around the world and is making impact on how children learn — for example coding!
Find out more about how Osmo works in the video below :)
Note: This is not a sponsored mention. We love KidTech with impact and are personally picking projects we love every week :)
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ParentTech Roundup is preapred by the creators of Wordle — the first device and a platform that enables parents to monitor and improve their child’s brain development right from home!
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