Everyone knows that babies crawl before they walk and that tricycles come before two-wheelers. But at what age should children get their first cell phone, laptop or virtual persona?

These are new questions being faced by 21st-century parents, and there is no wisdom from the generations for guidance. You can’t precisely say to your teenager, “When I was a boy, I didn’t have an unlimited texting plan until I was in high school.”

Some parents flood their children with technology. “My 4-year-old has been on the Web since he could sit up,” said Samantha Morra, a mother of two from Montclair, New Jersey. “My 6-year-old has an iPod and wants a cell phone, although my husband and I aren’t certain who he’d shout.”

Others, like Christine Jorgensen, a mother of three from Flemington, New Jersey, are more cautious.

“I’m not a huge fan of flooding my children’s lives with the latest gadget,” Jorgensen said. “My children go

online for schoolwork, but our computer is in my sight, and protected to the teeth.”

What’s the Right Approach?

Studies of child development offer some middle ground. expanded before the invention of the first microprocessor, the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development by watching his own children. His theories bring some logic to the debate about how to support your child’s growth with the latest technology.

Ages 0-2: Babies and toddlers can’t use a mouse until at least age 2, and flat monitors don’t offer much in the way of stimulation in Piaget’s first “sensorimotor” stage. To work at that age, technology products must act like a busy-box, with lights or sounds that reply to a child’s actions.

Toys like the Laugh & Learn 2-in-1 Learning Kitchen by Fisher- Price (www.Fisher-Price.com), which has doors and switches for a baby to explore and a…

Orginal post by Top Tech News