Here’s Why Your Child Deserves High-Quality Educational Content
Written by: Kokotree
Last updated:
As parents, we want only the best for our children. We want them to be happy and healthy, to grow and learn. This includes ensuring they get the education they need to succeed in life.
In today’s world, that education includes quality digital content.
Unfortunately, not all video content for preschoolers is created equal.
With the number of screens in our lives, it’s more important than ever that you carefully select the content your kids consume on those screens.
That’s why choosing quality digital content for toddlers is essential.
Why your toddler deserves high-quality educational content.
Quality digital content for toddlers is essential because it sets the foundation for their future screen time habits.
- If they’re used to seeing high-quality, educational content from a young age, they’re more likely to seek out that same kind of content as they get older.
- If they’re used to seeing low-quality, unedited content from a young age, they’re likelier to continue consuming that same kind of content into their teenage years and beyond.
Most online educational apps are not developed by education experts but by software developers with other interests, such as entertainment,gaming, or making money from your child clicking ads. This results in apps with more entertainment value—which usually cause overstimulation in preschoolers—than educational value.
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It’s essential to monitor the amount of screen time your child is getting, but it’s even more critical to monitor the quality of the content they’re watching.
Research has shown that too much screen time can lead to attention span, behavior, and sleep problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends:
- Children under 18 months should not have ANY screen time.
- Children above 18 months should not have screen time lasting more than one hour daily.
Controlled high-quality screen time of 30 min to 1 hour each day can bring value to your child.
Researchers have demonstrated that quality content improves children’s vocabulary, regardless of their parents’ education or attitudes. Another study found high-quality educational programs accelerated language acquisition.
The quality of the content you let your child consume impacts their development and behavior.
For example, if you allow them to watch videos that:
- Have violent or sexual topics, they may develop aggressive behavior or begin acting out sexually at an early age.
- Have ads in them, they may start to believe that buying or obtaining things will make them happy.
- Teach bad behaviors, they will probably act out those bad behaviors.
What is high quality educational content?
High quality content for toddlers means that the content is:
1. Educational Value
You want your child to learn from the content they watch, not just be entertained.
Look for digital content that is created by educational experts and that is designed to teach your toddler specific skills.
2. Safe and Regulated
It’s important to know that the digital content your toddler is watching is safe and regulated.
This means no explicit or violent images or language.
It also means ensuring the app or website your child uses is secure and appropriate for their age group.
The problem with free educational apps is their suggestion algorithms.
These algorithms maximize ad revenue and user engagement, so these apps will always steer your kid towards the loudest and most flashy videos that are likely irrelevant to their watching.
Loud, flashy videos affect their attention span and can lead to other issues. With free-for-all user-uploaded content, the focus is on entertainment instead of education.
3. Age appropriate
You want to make sure the content your child is watching is appropriate for their age group.
If the content is too easy, they’ll get bored quickly. If it’s too hard, they’ll get frustrated and give up.
The best digital content is carefully designed to be just challenging enough to keep your toddler engaged and learning.
4. Quality over Quantity
When it comes to educational videos, quality matters more than quantity.
You want your child to be engaged and learning from what they’re watching, not just mindlessly scrolling through a feed or clicking on one video after another.
If an app features thousands of videos, your toddler is likely to get overwhelmed and lose focus.
It’s important to choose apps that offer a limited selection of high-quality videos. This will help your child learn to focus and pay attention for longer periods.
If the content is well-made and engaging, your child will be more likely to learn from it and remember what they’ve watched.
5. Personal and family bonding
You want to choose digital content that doesn’t suck your child into an infinite viewing loop, suggesting one video after another.
Instead, look for content that encourages your child to take breaks and explore other activities.
Look for content you can enjoy together; there should be offline reinforcement activities after every lesson so that you can engage with your kid offline and get some personal time to bond with your child.
How to find quality educational content for your child
Now that you know why quality matters, you may be wondering how you can find quality digital content for toddlers.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to ensure that the digital content your toddler consumes is high-quality.
- Vet everything yourself before allowing your child to watch or play it. This includes checking reviews from other parents as well as online ratings.
- Look for programs created by educational experts or institutions like museums or libraries. These programs will have been thoroughly vetted and will be educational and entertaining.
- Use parental controls on your devices to limit your child’s access only to high-quality content sources.
- Make sure there are no advertisements in the content. Advertisements are distracting and can take away from the educational value of the content.
Why Kokotree is the best place for high-quality preschool content
Kokotree is an educational app for kids that helps your child learn basic academic concepts like numbers, shapes, colors, and the alphabet.
Kokotree is for kids aged 1 to 5. It’s perfect for busy parents who want to give their toddler or preschooler a head start on education.
Instead of passively watching cartoons, your child will be engaged in active, smart screen time—through educational videos that improve their cognitive development.
Your child deserves more. Try Kokotree Today.
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Give your child high-quality educational content
When it comes to digital content for toddlers, quality trumps quantity. Look for educational and creative shows, and avoid anything too loud or fast-paced. Most importantly, take some time to bond with your little ones while they learn and grow!
As parents, we are responsible for ensuring that our children consume high-quality digital content. Thanks to a wealth of online resources, it’s easier to find age-appropriate, educational content for kids of all ages.
By vetting the content our kids consume on screens, we can help them develop healthy screen time habits that will benefit them now and in the future.
Digital media can be a great way to entertain and educate your toddler – but only if it’s high-quality content. Be picky about what your little one watches, and look for shows and apps that are educational and entertaining.
With so much content available at our fingertips, it’s more important than ever to be selective about the quality of the media our children consume.
In summary. TLDR. Here are the important parts you need to know.
- The problem with free educational apps—and most popular streaming services—is their suggestion algorithms, which steer children towards the loudest and most flashy videos that are likely irrelevant to their watching, affecting their attention span and can lead to other issues.
- As parents, we want the best for our children, including ensuring they get the education they need to succeed.
- In today’s world, that education includes quality digital content.
- Choosing quality digital content for toddlers is essential because it sets the foundation for their future screen time habits.
- If children are used to seeing high-quality, educational content from a young age are more likely to seek out that same kind of content as they get older.
- If children are used to seeing low-quality content from a young age, they’re likelier to continue consuming that same kind of content into their teenage years and beyond.
- Quality content improves children’s vocabulary, regardless of their parents’ education or attitudes.
- Quality content also accelerates language acquisition.
- Quality of content affects children’s development and behavior.
- High-quality content for toddlers means that the content is: Educational Value, Safe, Regulated, and Age appropriate.
Keep reading: up next …
In the next post: Beware educational apps and streaming services that “overstimulate” your child’s brain.
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