old phones

Britain

The Times

November 14, 2006

Educational toys? Just give toddlers your old phone

(After a two-year study an education expert concluded that young children don't need pricey playthings to teach them about technology.)

By Rosemary Bennett

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 pressurised 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.

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