Tips to Help Parents Navigate Downloadable Gifts

downloadable gifts

This holiday season, PBS is offering some quick tips to help parents navigate successful selection and use of downloadable gifts.

App Selection and Use Tips: 

1.    Keep it Fresh: A good app is the perfect combination of education and entertainment, and should be appropriate for your child’s age and stage of development. Kids are most engaged when the features in an app address as many senses as possible and when these features offer variations on a theme, and are not too repetitive. Keep in mind your child’s age and skill set and choose games that present the right amount of challenge without becoming frustrating.

2.    Safety First: Parenting today includes teaching kids how to use digital media responsibly. Help children recognize the difference between information worth sharing and private information. There are many ways you can share your ideas and creativity online, but personal information should remain private.

3.    Avoid apps that try to sell: A six- or seven-year-old can’t be expected to distinguish between an entertaining game and advertising.  Select apps from trusted, reliable sources, and make sure that they are not trying to market to your child.  

4.    Play Together: 56% of surveyed parents reported that they co-play mobile apps with their children “often” or “sometimes”. This is a great habit to start early in a child’s exposure to media. Talking with kids about the game or activity as you play offers both the opportunity to bond as a family and also identify teachable moments.  

5.    Set limits: As with any new toy, parents should set expectations and limitations with their kids. Enjoying downloadable apps and games should be balanced with other offline activities and play.

Monica

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