Gone are the days of the archaic thinking that learning happens only through traditional methods. Today’s children are learning much more from applications, games, and videos that they access online. While we are not suggesting that you put a tablet in front of your child and expect your child to learn on his or her own, we are challenging you to make your child more digitally savvy. The first thing to remember if you are attempting to help your child become more digitally savvy is that technology cannot replace human interaction. Humans are valuable when it comes to teaching children. However, digital tools have their place in the lives of children who yearn to learn more.

Something to keep in mind is that each child is unique. Therefore each child should have unique opportunities to learn about what they are interested in. With the help of their parents, children can use digital tools to learn about what they want to learn about when they are ready to learn about it.

Before we provide some suggestions on how to help your pre-schooler become digitally savvy, you need to know what to work on. As a parent, your job is to:

• teach your child how to use simple gadgets
• get your child to use educational apps
• help your child to understand the functions offered by all devices

A Few Game Rules

Before you work on helping your child to become technically savvy, you will need to set a few ground rules.

1. Establish boundaries: It is of utmost importance to set clear boundaries when you are allowing your child to use a device. You should implement a clear start time as to when your child can start using a device and when the device needs to be put away.
2. Constant monitoring: You also need to monitor your children when they are on their devices. Sometimes inappropriate advertisements may appear or children may click away from a game that you have allowed them to play towards one you don’t approve of them playing. If your child knows that screen time is being monitored, your child will be more cautious about what he or she does on the device.
3. Communicate about online experiences: Make it possible for your child to communicate with you about any possible fears or difficulties that they may have when using devices or media. The only way that you can help your children become digitally literate is by allowing them to communicate about what they struggle to do online.
4. Let your child know the value of online safety: It is important to communicate with your child at his or her level that they are not always safe online. You must make sure that very young children understand the importance of using a device when parents are present and watching out for them.
5. Role model positive behavior: Parents always set examples for their kids to emulate. For this reason alone, the onus rests on your shoulders to show your children how effective digital tools can be if they are used correctly.

Fun Ways to Create Digitally Savvy Pre-schoolers

Select the Right Applications and Games

Should you wish to get your child to reap full educational benefits from using a device, we suggest that you decide which applications and games would be best for your child to use on the device. You want to choose interactive apps that encourage learning. While you may think that it is a difficult task choosing the right apps and games, it isn't at all a tedious one. There are apps and games created specifically to promote learning.

Promote Reading Online

This is an especially good suggestion for children who are reluctant to pick up a book and read. You can still encourage reading by getting your child to read a storybook online using a Kindle or E-reader. For kids who may battle to read, the interactive stories that are read for the children or audio-books help as well.

Create an Interest in Coding and Computational Programming

It is important to teach children that being digitally savvy means being able to solve problems as soon as they arise. There is no better way to teach computer programming than by making use of basic coding apps. Certain block-based coding apps make it so easy to teach your little ones the core principles of coding and problem-solving.

Make Learning Happen Through Play

Just as young children learn by playing with concrete objects, your child can also learn by playing an age-appropriate game on a tablet, laptop, or cell phone. The type of game you select is very important, but once your child is left to find his or her way to tackle the game, the learning will happen naturally.

Improve Artistic Skills Online

For artistic children, you can keep their interests alive online too. Find a great artist app or painting app suitable for younger children. Get your child to use his or her fingers or a stylus to draw online. Having so many colors and tools available at their disposal can be quite the treat for very young children.

Teach Music and Dance Digitally

There is no reason why you have to restrict learning online to academic learning only. You can encourage your kids to learn something enjoyable online too. You can get your children to take an interest in music by using virtual keyboard apps and the like. You can also allow your kids to watch dancing videos so that they pick up some cool dance steps.

How Can Parents Guide Learning During Digital Resource Use?

It has been found that young children spend about 1 and a half hours daily using digital resources. The amount of time that young children spend interacting with digital resources is ever-increasing. While we are not insinuating that you allow your kids to sit online for hours on end, you could make the 2 or so hours that your child spends online more productive.

• Guide your child on what to take note of and what to focus on when your child is interacting with digital resources. You can also draw your child's attention to important vocabulary words that you feel are important for your child to know as they tackle online apps and games.
• Observe your child as he or she interacts with certain apps and games. If your child is fond of a particular app or game, you can reward your child with slightly more screen time to play the game or app that he or she enjoys. In this way, you are using digital resources as rewards too.
• Ask your child open-ended questions. Teach your child the art of multitasking from a young age by asking open-ended questions about the game or app while your child is playing a game or an app.
• Constantly research or find ways to use media that resonates with your child's interest. The best apps and games link with your child's interests. Find apps that allow your child to discover answers that he or she may be in search of.

There are advantages to helping your child become digitally savvy in today’s times. You may also bond with your child more while equipping your child with digital literacy skills.

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