Learning in the Family – Mom Reigns

I came across a new report funded by BECTA and commissioned by Intuitive Media Research Services. It has some interesting findings, top of which is that kids are turning to Mom at home for tech help (nothing wrong with that). Here are some of the key findings:

• 92% of children said they used a computer or laptop at home
• 65% used a handheld device such as a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), Apple iPod or Nintendo DS and the same number used a games console such as the Sony Playstation 2 or 3, the Nintendo Wii or the XBox. Overall 58% used mobile phones.
• “Almost all girls (94%) said they used a computer or laptop compared with only (88%) of the boys. Girls are also more likely to watch TV (76% girls; 68% boys) have mobile phones (64% girls; 50% boys) and hand held devices (68% girls; 61% boys). Boys are a little more likely to have games consoles (69% boys; 62% girls).
• Most children (91%) used a computer or laptop to access the internet at home, with a minority using other devices. 20% of children used their mobile phones to get online, 17% used their games console and 15% used a hand held gaming device.
• Accessing the internet via the games console was twice as high among boys than girls (23% boys; 12% girls).
• Overall children spend most of their Internet time for socializing, play and their own research rather than for formal learning and homework. On a typical school day, nearly six in ten go online as soon as they come home from school (58%). Slightly fewer children use the internet after their evening meal (56%).
• On aggregate children spent 79 minutes on the Internet and 48 minutes on computer games – a total of 127 minutes on their computers, compared with only 68 minutes watching television.
• Most children were supervised by their mothers (44%), followed by father (35%) and siblings (25%).
• Nearly half the children use the internet in a  communal family space (49%), but one third  use it in their own bedrooms (30%).  Of those who used the Internet in the privacy of their own bedrooms, 53% were boys and 47% were girls.
• Most of the children (55%) who had the Internet at home said they did get help from their families. 43%, including more boys and older children, claim nobody helped them. Mothers are more likely to help than fathers. Of those who were helped by parents, 53% were helped by Mum and 47% by Dad.
• 59% of Mums got help from their children compared with 41% of Dads. Overall mothers were more likely than fathers to engage with their children when they used the Internet.
• Three quarters of children (77%) asked their parents for help using the internet for homework while
  only 42% asked parents for help with fun activities. Parents who do help become closely involved with their children’s internet use. 83% of parents who helped, checked what their children did  online. 75% explained things and 72% answered children’s questions. 61% talked to the child about what he or she was doing and 59% praised or encouraged the child when using the internet. 52% checked their children’s computer history.
• Unfortunately, children report, a large minority of parents get irritated with their children for staying on the internet for too long or for asking questions or asking for help. Just over a third of children (36%) said that parents get annoyed with them for asking questions or asking for help.
  
• Overall, mothers are more likely than fathers to engage with their children using new technologies especially when it comes to formal learning or research. Fathers are more engaged with solving technical problems and fun activities.  Mums were twice as popular as  helpers with 50% of children choosing Mum to help, versus 22%  choosing dad. The mothers were the mostly experienced and capable computer and Internet users. Half the 12 families in the telephone interview sample reported that the mother used the computer and the Internet most.
  The mother and the child were equally likely to be the computer and Internet expert in the family, ahead of the fathers and siblings.
  
• In all the families interviewed, the parents restricted the child’s Internet access – half of them through direct supervision and a quarter each by restricting the sites children visit or by using site-blocking software. Three quarters
  of the mothers said they knew mostly everything that their children did on the Internet.
• The majority of children who wanted improvement said they would like their parents to have more time to help (84%). About half (52%) said it would help if parents knew more about computers or the Internet.

I’ve italicized and bolded the interesting parts of the key findings, and it seems to me that it may reflect more on the pace of life and the typical family composition in the UK. I wonder if they have more single parent homes in the study, compared to dual parent/Extended family homes. It also seems that girls have more communication related technologies and boys have more game related technologies.