It looks like we might be looking after our 9 year old niece a lot more in the near future, her parent are getting a divorce. She has a Kindle and a Switch (Animal Crossing only) at her mum’s and dad’s places which she is really into. We are looking to set up an iPad and oldish windows 10 PC for her to use at ours.
We’ve been warned against her withdrawing into technology as she’s prone to watching roblox lets plays all day. The games she’s used to playing are things like loot boxes and free passive games where you wait for coins (she can’t buy them) or watch adverts to progress etc. Our niece is a “girly girl” choosing pink and feminine things, we’re not trying to change that but it is something that will have to inform our choices.
How should we cultivate our devices to be educational and engaging? Can we help set an example of a healthier relationship with technology? Any good games? I’m really grateful for having this opportunity to face this now because my own daughter who’s 1 will be growing up into this world in just a few years.