Are Apps Harmful For Young Children?

As you may know, Musical Minis recently launched a Nursery Rhymes Puzzle App as part of our 25 Year Celebrations and to demonstrate that despite the age of Musical Minis, we are keeping up to date with the advances in society.

We have started rolling out a change in our membership packs which now gives every new member the App for free, as a gift, to replace a Book Bag. This was not an easy decision to make as we know that not everyone agrees with giving apps to small children and there is some evidence to suggest that over reliance on technology may be harmful. We had our own fears about this and consequently put considerable research into the pros and cons of the app argument. We wanted to share our findings with you to provide an explanation and justification as to why we decided to create our app.

As with any topic of debate, there are ultimately studies and opinions which do suggest that using apps can be damaging for young children. However, from our own research the overwhelming message seems to be that it is only when apps are used excessively that problems occur. The app that we created was especially designed to combat this and be used in moderation. Each puzzle is fairly short and is not designed for continuous play or to keep children occupied for a long period of time. We did not want the app to be used as a ‘babysitter’ or for children to play with it at the dinner table etc. It is when this occurs that problems arise in relation to stunted communication. There is also evidence to show that if children are given technology to play with every time they are bored or don’t have a set activity (i.e. every car journey or every time you are busy) then they aren’t able to experience alone time which is key for developing their imagination and will enable them to deal with solitude in the future without feeling lonely. Consequently, we are aware of the dangers of this excessive use and have designed the app with this in mind in order to prevent over-use. I quite like this quote from Björn Jeffery who is a children’s app developer and I think it sums up our attitude quite well - “If kids only used apps all the time, that would be bad. Well, yes, but if kids played football all the time, and that was the only thing they did, that would be bad too. Why would you hold the iPad to that standard?”. You can read the whole interview with him here .

Apps can also be beneficial in enhancing and aiding educational development. This really does vary and depend on how the app is made and whether it is used in the right way. In relation to the way the Musical Minis app has been created, the educational aspect was a really key priority for us. Consequently, we used educational experts when designing the app, drawing on my own experience within child psychology as well as seeking the input of a nursery school head teacher to help with the visual aspect of the app. This has resulted in an app which is age appropriate and simple in its format and design. Apps can also be beneficial as they go at the pace of the child and don’t move on until the child is ready. This contrasts with TV and even Musical Minis classes, as the child has to go with the pace of what they are seeing. However, with an app, the child has greater control. For example, with the Musical Minis App, there are 3 levels of puzzles and the child will only move up a level once they have mastered the first one which really enables them to develop the skills before advancing. In relation to our app, there are a number of key skills children will gain from the app. These included fine motor skills as children have to move the puzzle pieces into place with their fingers. This skill is shown to link to early handwriting as well as hand-eye co-ordination. We also want to encourage the children to have goals as after they complete each puzzle they get to listen to the nursery rhyme and in turn feel a sense of achievement upon completing the game. We have also tried to re-create many of the benefits children gain from attending the classes via the app. This is why we have used the same professionally recorded music for the nursery rhymes which have been especially designed for young children. We also wanted to make the app realistic and so we have a video of a real person singing the nursery rhymes as opposed to an animation. Children are therefore able to have that eye contact and the human response. They are also able to copy the action and again benefit from this. Obviously this is no alternative to having someone with them providing that human interaction and is not intended to replace that.

This links with how the app is meant to be used and there has been significant research to suggest that when used in the right way, alongside other resources, it can create a really positive educational experience. It has been really interesting to read that Rovio, the maker of the Angry Bird app, are now creating an Angry Bird Playground to create a “360-degree approach to learning” where their app will be used alongside books and games. Although this is obviously slightly different to what we at Musical Minis are trying to achieve, the sentiment of the multi-layered approach to learning is something we really are striving for. The app is meant to supplement and go alongside reading, playing games, interacting with parents and attending the classes. It is by no means meant as an alternative to doing these things. What the Angry Birds franchise is showing is that when characters are liked and relatable in one device or way of learning, this can often easily be transferred to another platform to make learning fun. This is why apps can be really beneficial especially for slightly older children. There is evidence to show that when children like a character they are more engaged with traditional forms of learning. Similarly, although there is evidence to suggest that children these days are reading fewer books and spending more time using technology, there is also a very distinct rise in the number of children reading books off iPads etc. We are really trying to use this app to facilitate and encourage learning from multiple angles but ultimately parents are key to this and need to be involved in the way the app is used for its effects to be significant and beneficial. I believe it is all about using apps in the right way. This is of an even greater issue because so many children are using apps and we want children to be using beneficial and safe apps and so we have created one that enables this.

A key concern and negativity associated with apps for children is the fear of in-app purchases with stories of children spending hundreds of pounds without realising it. This is something we were very keen to avoid and there are no in-app purchases in our app. We consequently hope this quells concerns over internet safety etc. Unlike the vast majority of app developers, we have not created this app to make money - that is not our aim. Ultimately we want children to have another way to enjoy Musical Minis beyond the sessions and benefit from its educational qualities.

I hope this has been helpful and explains why it is that we have chosen to create an app. I hope it also highlights that the app was not an impulsive decision and a lot of thought, market research and investigation went into it. We fully respect that in spite of this research, individuals may still wish not to download the app but we hope that those who do find it safe, developmental and ultimately fun. As always, we’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions on this topic.

If you would like to buy the Musical Minis Nursery Rhyme Puzzle App and download it onto onto your Iphone, click here. Please note that this app has been optimised for version 5 and requires iOS 7.0 or later. To download the app onto your smartphone, click here. Please note this will only work with android versions 4.0.3 and up.

If you would like to find out more information about the benefits of apps, then you may find the articles below to be interesting reads:

This study suggests that apps and video games are less damaging than TV - http://adc.bmj.com/content/early/2013/02/21/archdischild-2011-301508

This study demonstrates just how many children are using apps which was a key motivation for us to create an appropriate and beneficial app which both parents and children like and feel comfortable using - http://mashable.com/2013/10/28/children-under-2-mobile-media-study/

There are also many articles and pieces of research which show how apps can be very beneficial for children with autism to enhance and develop their communication. Although studies are still in their early stages, we believe that actually using apps can encourage this development with all children - http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/content/using-ipads-facilitate-learning-communication-social-skills-and-positive-behaviour-children

This article illustrates that there are negatives to using apps excessively but shows it is currently too early to truly recognise the positive effects they can have - http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/20/no-screen-time-for-2-year-olds-do-ipad-apps-count/ I’d really recommend looking at these tips on how to use apps appropriately and effectively in order that they are able to have a positive impact. If you do decide to download our app or any others, I think these are great guidelines to follow - http://domain.me/children-using-ipads/

This is more information about the developments being undertaken by Angry Birds - http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/sep/16/angry-birds-playground-education-rovio.

This study demonstrates the positive educational impact apps are able to have in relation to literacy gains for 3 year old children who use vocabulary apps. Part 2 demonstrates these results - http://www-tc.pbskids.org/read/files/cooney_learning_apps.pdf

Finally this article shows that in moderation, there is no evidence to suggest that using apps is negative for development - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22219881