London, Nov 20: Parents spending hundreds of pounds on high-tech educational toys for toddlers would be better off giving them an old mobile phone to play with, according to an education expert.
Lydia Plowman, Professor of Education at the University of Stirling, says parents should stop feeling pressurized into buying computerised toys for young children because they are no better than traditional methods of teaching children the basics.
Families eager to introduce their children to new technology should use lap-tops, mobile phones and other gadgets already in the home rather than splashing out on custom-built computers, she says.
"These toys are not particularly beneficial, although they are not particularly harmful either. There is no problem having them in the home. But in terms of literacy and numeracy they are certainly not more effective than more traditional methods of helping children to learn," she was quoted by Times Online, as saying.
In particular, she recommends giving children old mobile phones to play with so they can pretend to call their friends. "Family members often change their phone every year and give their old one to their young child. That's a very good way of introducing them to technology in an authentic setting," she said.
Professor Plowman said that she was not anti-technology, and did not want to be associated with movements such as the Alliance for Childhood, which claims electronic toys inhibit free play and are responsible for low attainment at school.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 20, 2006, 00:00