Parents usually do whatever they can to try and reduce their children's digital screen time.
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But a select group of parents who tried out the new UOW Children's Technology Play Space today couldn't help but talk up how much fun their kids had.
Kiama Downs resident Dylan Cliff said his two children had a ball.
"It really is exciting for the kids. There's all sorts of fun things to do, include playing with all types of different technologies," he said.
"It is just not playing with screens, there is all sorts of different types of technologies like 3D cameras, projecting art onto walls ..so the kids can kind of plan things, create things and share those things with others.
"Heidi and Lennox have had a ball playing with their friends in the space."
Tarrawanna mother Kristy South said a highlight was how seamless it was for the children to play in a "mixture of old and new technologies".
"It was also really powerful seeing the kids learn about technology through play. Chloe and Harvey loved it."
Part of UOW's Early Start, next door to the much-loved Discovery Space, UOW Children's Technology Play Space, is a living laboratory with digital experiences available for children from birth to eight years of age and their parents, as well as a place for educators and industry partners to come and work with the research team.
The space offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue, and an inspiration to use technology in smart and innovative ways.
"The Australian Centre for the Digital Child and its newest addition, the UOW Children's Technology Play Space, is dedicated to creating positive digital childhoods for all Australian children," says Professor Lisa Kervin, the Research Director at UOW's Early Start and UOW's Node Director for the Centre of Excellence.
"UOW research has been leading the way in our understanding of digital play, particularly digital imaginative play. When we think about our children's relationship with technology, this kind of play is crucial for development as a way to explore, experiment and manipulate their understandings of the world."
UOW Children's Technology Play Space has been designed to provide a place for children and their families to be involved in cutting-edge research around how technologies can be safely used with young children.
The space will host a number of research projects for the Centre, focusing on the educated child, the healthy child and the connected child. It will be available to the public through regular digital playgroups. During these hands-on workshops, both parents and kids will learn how to use technology smartly.
"Never before has technology been so important in families' lives,"Professor Kervin said.
"Families are dealing with mixed messages about what is and isn't appropriate for their children. The reality is though, digital technology is firmly part of the lives of many families, including young children.
"Yet what's important is for parents to be able to choose quality apps for their young children and learners and to facilitate the smart use of these apps at home.
"The design of the digital tools is essential to how it will affect children's development, as, for the most part, technology might equally restrict or encourage the developmental process. Not all screens and uses of technology are equal."
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