Our children are smarter than us. This conclusion arises when you observe modern kids mastering things that are difficult for us adults, for example, computers, phones and other gadgets. Any child, if there is a tablet in the house, will master this device by the age of 1.5-2 years. It costs him nothing to turn on the device, find the desired program or cartoon. He knows what to click if he gets to the wrong place. Most parents are very touched by such “successes”. We ourselves sometimes spend considerable time figuring out a new phone, and there is no point in comparing us with our parents (those who are now over 50-55 years old), who are fighting their way to these skills. However, if you think about it, is this really a manifestation of special abilities? 1. A person masters any skill better if a period of active learning is preceded by passive observation. This is most important for children. Children are programmed by nature to master the lifestyle of their parents by the age of 6-7, master self-service skills, learn to use tools, and get used to the rhythms (daily, weekly, annual...) of society. Therefore, the child perceives everything that is in his field of vision as a task to master, this is how the world works, something where he will live further. He sees parents who live in all this, and accordingly they are given the feeling that this is the norm, this is safe and natural. It’s a completely different way to master what we didn’t grow up with (as they say, we didn’t absorb it with our mother’s milk). On the one hand, we are wired to be wary of everything new, which of course slows down the process of mastering; on the other hand, learning something over the head goes much slower than if we could first observe how others do it. 2. The second point I would like to determine is what actually happens in a child’s head when he uses a tablet, what mental functions are involved. Let's think: a child presses a button with his finger: - the involvement of the motor sphere is minimal, that is (visual-motor coordination, of course, is included - you have to hit the right button); - muscle efforts are simply scanty; - perception is also not significantly saturated - for the most part, the child sees small icons and their number is limited (here it is more important what the parents actually downloaded for his development); - spatial functions - again minimal - small children are more focused on the type of icon than on its location, - memory - involved in the initial stages, but then it all depends on the type of educational activity or game; - thinking - simple logical operations - all conclusions are drawn based on repeated repetition - trial and error. Everyone knows about the experiments with monkeys. With positive reinforcement, any ordinary monkey can press the button to get a banana. So, what we have is: for the scanty experience of identifying cause and effect, the child misses entire layers in his development. No matter how highly the harvest is valued, you must first dig up the ground, plant the seeds, take care of the crops and only then collect the fruits. The tasks of younger children are the development of the motor sphere, the emotional sphere, and imaginative thinking. The time for logical thinking has not yet come. When a two-year-old child jumps over an object lying on the floor, his brain activity is similar to a new Christmas tree, that’s where the development!!!