Tumble Tots' workshop on how to techno-proof kids

MANILA, Philippines - Britain’s leading preschool is staging a workshop that will teach parents how to prevent technology from dominating and adversely affecting their children’s development.

This interactive workshop, slated at Tumble Tots on E. Rodriguez Avenue (Libis), Quezon City on Saturday, March 6, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., will help parents learn more about home activities that can provide their children with the right environment for well-balanced physical and mental growth.

The workshop will also answer the most-asked questions on when preschoolers should use technology and what parents and educators can do to build computer skills while ensuring that their children don’t get too much tech time.

This problem is an offshoot of the Information Age, where even one-year-old kids engage in computer games and use electronic toys that start to dominate their youthful lives.

Thus, the National Association for the Education of Young Children advises that “computers supplement, and do not replace, highly valued early childhood activities and materials, such as art, blocks, sand, water, books, exploration with writing materials, and dramatic play.” 

“Numerous studies show that play is a strong tool for children to learn while having fun.  When children play, they learn, and they learn social, emotional, and physical skills as well as academic content,” says Tumble Tots managing director Dyan Bian-Cortez.

“Such is the reason for the workshop,” Cortez stresses.

Dubbed “Technology-proofing your child: Balancing technology and creative play,” the workshop will have clinical psychologist and Ateneo de Manila professor Karina G. Fernandez as main speaker, with sportscaster and celebrity mom Patricia Bermudez-Hizon sharing her insights as a parent.

The workshop fee is only P150 per person and P250 per couple.  The fee already covers the participant’s workshop materials and snacks. 

Inquiries and registration can be made at Tumble Tots (telephone numbers 687-6793 and 687-6375 or 09177010097).

Tumble Tots (www.tumbletots.com.ph) is Britain’s leading preschool for children three months to six years old and has over 500 centers worldwide, including the Philippines.