changing images

• Becoming a Child Friendly City by UNICEF, New Zealand is a positive initiative for helping and giving our children the full opportunity to thrive and reach great potential (UNICEF New Zealand, 2008).

• The Child Friendly City is at a higher level in which government puts in place strategies to establish a framework to provide the city with activities and practices to benefit our children. This includes funding Libraries and schools to enable them to have ICT devices available for our children to have access to. These initiatives taken by the local government contribute to the children’s rights to be included (UNICEF New Zealand, 2008).

• To encourage the child’s human rights such as having the rights to participate and be an equal citizen of our city. To have access to services and adequate facilities regardless of their individual ethnicity, religion, gender and young or old and so on (UNICEF, 2006).

• ICT are the new face of the future and children should be exposed to them to enhance their learning and encourages the child’s learning to a higher level. Also to allow equal opportunity of participation regardless of the child’s changing image in our society/community and environment (UNICEF New Zealand, 2008).

•  From our survey, the Pacific Island children miss out on the ICT opportunities to learn as they cannot afford to buy devices. However, Friendly City initiatives enable them to participate and be equal citizens of our city.

• The modern communication technology has negative impacts on children's communication skills and literacy development. 

• Children's activities and development are impacted by their use of computers or other ICT devices. The positive and negative influences are as follows:  
• positive effects: develop cognitive skills, narrowing gender gap, 
• negative effects: effects physical well-being, higher risk of obesity, effect on social skills, violent behaviour, increase loneliness and depression, less involve in natural. 

• another way of thinking:   owing to that parents spent a lot of time on ICT devices, their relationships with children get worse. this is another way of considering how ICT devices effect children's quality of life. 

• According to Steiner philosophy, the use of computers and televisions by young children is strongly discouraged. It may take children away from nature and it decrease children's creativity. 

references:

UNICEF, (2006).  A Guide to General Comment 7:  Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood.  
            Retrieved from

http://bernardvanleer.org/a_guide_to_general_comment_7_implementing_child_rights_in_early_childhood

UNICEF New Zealand, (2008).  About Child Friendly Cities, Aotearoa New Zealand.  Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org.nz/Child-Friendly-Cities/About

Watt, H.J. (2010). How does the use of modern communication technology influence language and literacy development? A review. Contemporary issues in communication science and disorders, 37, 141-148. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/asha/publications/cicsd/2010F-Use-of-Modern-Communication-Technology.pdf

Subrahmanyam, K., Kraut, R.E., Greenfield, P.M. & Gross, E.F. (2000). The impact of home computer use on children's activities and development. The future of children: children and computer technology, 10(2), 123-144. Retrieved from https://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/10_02_05.pdf

Education review office. (2007). Early childhood monographs: The quality of education and care in Steiner early childhood services. Retrieved from
            http://www.ero.govt.nz/National-Reports/Early-Childhood-Monographs-The-Quality-of-Education-and-Care-in-Steiner-Early-Childhood-Services-July-2007/The-quality-of-education-in-Steiner-early-childhood-services/Philosophy