Kids & Technology...better get on board because the train is chugging

A few weeks ago, I got a tablet for my anniversary. I think it's pretty cool. I mean, I'm faintly aware that it possesses some rather neat capabilities. At least, that's what I've seen from afar.

Why? Because since I got it, my children have kidnapped it.

They play puzzles, matching games, and princess dress-up. They paint, take care of virtual puppies, and help Curious George fire meatballs out of a cannon. My daughter likes to use Word to write the alphabet in crazy fonts, and my son enjoys matching sounds to various animals and vehicles (emphasis on the vehicles).

So that's good, right? I mean, what kind of parenting am I practicing here? The progressive kind? The lazy kind? What?

Well, I'm in the same boat with a lot of other folks. According to a recent study by Common Sense Media, almost 75 percent of U.S. households with kids 8 years of age or younger have access to a computer at home, almost 70 percent have high speed internet, and about 10 percent of homes use ereaders, with the number of those devices and tablets growing. In fact, I would imagine tablets will soon be the norm, and with kids now having access to them in many school systems (including Edmond Public Schools), tablets may become as much a part of our everyday life as the television, computer, and smart phone.

So, parents, I'm going to do some research on your behalf. For the next few weeks, I'm going to get  down to the nitty gritty on the subject of technology and kids, and I hope to help you figure out where you stand on the spectrum of how much is too much.

July 17 - We'll be discussing the  current trends in technology, figuring out what kids have access to these days and how quickly things are changing.

July 24 - I'll relay some great information from the Edmond Public School system on the current state of technology used in the classrooms and what it is doing for your child.

July 31 - Is there a dark side to all this? How about the impact on children's activity levels? Their social interaction? What is out there that will combat the possibly negative aspects of a world gone tech?

So stay tuned. And I'm going to go find that tablet while the kids are otherwise occupied!