THERE IS NO ‘WE’ IN IPHONE AND IPAD; EXPLORING PARENT-CHILD BONDING THROUGH PLAY AND THE SENSES
Very few technologies have invaded our lives – and those of our children – as stealthily as the smartphone or tablet. Introducing a touchscreen into the life of a preschooler does more harm than good if a parent is substituting spending quality time together with an illuminated screen. Undoubtedly, touchscreens make good pacifiers that can occupy kids and make them quiet. While this can be helpful for parents in the short term, it inevitably leads to bleed-over into the family routine and interferes with parent-child bonding and parental attention. This project aims to explore ways of creating a ‘traditional’, non-digital toy that intrigues a child’s five senses in line with positively influencing a child’s early age development. It also aims to promote real-time social feedback and engagement from parents and/or caregivers.