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Modern children communicate with TV, video and computer a lot. If previous generation was generation of books, then modern one receives information through video

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Modern
children communicate with TV, video and computer a lot. If previous
generation was generation of books, then modern one receives
information through video.

We often hear such questions: Is computer safe for my child? How much
time can he spend in front of it? Does computer impede normal
development of a child?

Let`s try to investigate what are computer programs for children, what`s their
use and minuses.

Any child`s fancies, book and fairy-tale heroes revive on display.
Objects of surrounding world, figures and letters also revive on it.
When they come to a computer game, they create a special world, similar
to real one, but still different from it. Computer games are composed
the way a child could imagine not a single idea or concrete situation,
but receive a generalized idea about all similar situations or objects.
Thus, such important mental operations, like generalization and
classification (which start forming since 6-7 years while standard
teaching) are formed in children.

One of most important functions of computer games - is educational one.
Let`s speak about it in more detail and see, what new can computer
give, in comparison with alive teacher. In these games a child starts
understanding that objects on display - are not real things, but only
symbols of these real things very early. In different games these real
objects signs or symbols become complicated, more and more generalized
and resemble real surrounding objects less. This way, a so-called sign
function of perception starts developing very early in children, this
means they understand that there`re several levels of surrounding world
reality, - these are real objects, pictures, schemes, words and
equations and, finally, these are our thoughts, which are the most
complicated, ideal level of reality.

However, “sign function of perception” not only gives an opportunity to
realize presence of all these levels in nature, but also underlies in a
probability to think without support on external objects. Difficulties
while teaching children counting or reading to themselves, known to
many parents, say about importance of such thinking and difficulty of
its development. A child continues whispering a read text or counting
his fingers while counting.

Computer games give you an opportunity to make the process of switch of
a psychic action from external plan to internal one easier, so that the
simplest actions in internal plan become available already for children
of 4-5 years.

However, a computer miracle has even more to offer. Not only
psychologists, but also parents and teachers, studying computer with
children, noticed, that in the process of these lessons children memory
and attention improve. And it`s naturally, as it corresponds to laws of
children psychic development. Researches of many psychologists showed
that small children have no wish to memorize yet, there`s no a
so-called voluntary memorization, i.e. memorization with some goal, set
earlier. Chidren memory is involuntary, children memorize only bright,
emotional cases or details, and here computer is an irreplaceable
assistant again, as it makes matter of learned material significant and
bright, and this not only quickens its memorization, but also makes it
more logical and permanent.

Computer games are of great importance not only for development of
children intellect, but also for development of their movements, to be
more exact, for formation of motor coordination and coordination of
visual  and motor analyzers team-work.

Many parents complain of their children`s clumsiness, that they repeat
complicated physical exercises with difficulty. Some children apprehend
such notions, like right and left badly even by 6 years. Such defects
are not an evidence of intellectual retardation or puerilism, but you
shouldn`t also hope that they will dissapear on their own.

Well, why computer can help easily and quickly in overcoming of such
serious defect, for which even experienced psychologists need several
months? In any games, from simplest to complicated, children need
learning pushing certain keyboard keys using their fingers, what
develops small hand musculation and movements of children. Hand motions
should be combined with visible action of display. Thus, absolutely
naturally, without additional special lessons, necessary visual-motor
coordination is developed.

Almost all parents know how difficult it can be to set a child to
study. On computer a child studies with pleasure, and will never object
to your offer to study with PC. This is connected with the fact, that
computer is attractive for children in itself, like any other new toy.
That`s why computer games are not apprehended as studies by children.
Well, do you know any child, who doesn`t like playing?

This way, interest, provoked by computer studies, underlies in
formation of such important structures, like cognitive motivation,
voluntary memory and attention. Development of these qualitites is
especially important for 6 years old children, as they provide a
child`s psychological readiness for school in many aspects.

Well, computer develops lots of intellectual skills. But there is just
one snag. You shouldn`t forget about the golden mean, norm. Any
medicine can become a poison, if it`s overdosed. You need to understand
that computer - is not a magic wand, which will make a child clever and
developed for one hour. Like any other studies, computer games require
time, correct application, tolerance and care from adults. There`re
certain time limits. Thus, 3-4 years old children should not spend more
than 20 minutes in front of PC, and 6-7 years old children can spend 30
minutes per day near PC.

Unfortunately, now we often can see children, who passed all reasonable
bounds in their communication with computer. Excessive communication
with computer can not only lead to a child`s visual loop, but also
influence his psychic health negatively. Considering all advantages of
computer games, they still create an illusion of communication and
don`t lead to formation of real communication skills. It`s especially
dangerous for shy children. Real communication brings them
psycho-emotional tension, puts them in situation of distress, and then
pseudo-communication replaces it. Computer gives him a possibility to
be carried to another world, which he can see, play with. At the same
time a child rejects real world more and more, where negative marks and
necessity to change something in himself threaten him. Such going away
to an artificial reality can form a resemblance of psychological
dependence from computer.

And still, computer - is our future. Work with it teaches children a
new way of receiving and processing of information, quicker and
simpler. And ability to receive necessary material for work and process
it quickly quickens and optimizes operation of thinking, helps not only
to learn more, but also better, solve new tasks more exactly. On the
other hand, you shouldn`t set hopes only upon computer. Computer skills
can play only an auxiliary role in development of real communication
skills.