Excerpt and Quote: While the flashing lights and music of tech toys provides a repetition that young children enjoy, the toys often lack social interaction and turn-taking, Pasnik said. "It would be nice to say 'Parents, buy these five toys and your children will be smarter and happier, but it just doesn't work that way," she said. Instead, parents must play an active role by asking questions and breathing life into interactive experiences. They should encourage children to play a game together, ask open-ended questions about what a child is doing, and point to elements on the screen, "rather than seeing computer time as an isolated experience," Pasnik said. "The computer can be the beginning to another physical experience or an outdoor experience so it doesn't simply end on the screen," she said.

Read the article