The 'Pros' and 'Cons' of Gadgets on Children

My children before were asking for dolls or other toys on special occasions likethis upcoming school closing. But nowadays, they are really influenced by high technology too, they opt for a touch screen, tablet or notebook for a gift.

Noon ang hinihiling lang na regalo ng mga anak ko ay manyika, clay o iba pang laruan sa tuwing may okasyong gusto nilang makatanggap ng regalo gaya nitong nalalapit na pagtatapos ng pasukan/klase. Talagang hindi na mapigilan ang epidemya ng teknolohiya – pati mga bata ay naiimpluwensiyahan na din. Bakit kamo? Itong mga anak ko, sampu at pitong taong gulang gusto na din Android cellphone, tablet at notebook pa kamo!

My firstborn Angel had her earliest try on computer when she was four. I can remember the trending game then is Farm Mania. She was just watching me and her father at first then we never really notice when she plays by herself without our guidance. By five, she also learned MS Word basics typing/encoding and drawing on Paint app.

Yung panganay kong si Angel ay nagsimulang humawak ng computer noong apat na taon pa lamang siya. Naalala ko uso pang game noon ang Farm Mania. Nanonood lang siya sa amin ng tatay niya sa simula hanggag sa hindi na lamang namin napansin na naglalaro na pala siyang mag-isa.  Limang taon naman siya nang matutong gumamit ng MS WORD ang encoding at pagguhit sa Paint app.

I wonder what is the difference between the hobbies of today than that of the old days. Basically, studies prove that more and more children get obese at a younger age because they cut on exercise or body movement – instead of doing some other things that would make them sweat they tend to get satisfied sitting around while playing games on their Android gadgets. 

What is Mystery Shopping

The first thing that comes to our mind when we look for an on-line accomplished job is encoding, tutorial, translating or ‘pay per click’ advertising. Mystery shopping has been there for long worldwide but not been so popular in the Philippines.  

Ang unang pumapasok sa isip natin kapag naghahanap ng pagkakakitaan online ay yaong mga gaya ng pagta-type (paggawa ng kopya), pagtuturo, pagliliwat ng wika o lenguwahe, o yung nauusong ‘pay per click’ advertising na naipakita pa nga sa telebisyon. Itong tinatatawag na ‘Mystery Shopping’ ay matagl nang mayroon sa ibang bansa ngunit hindi pa gaanong kilala dito sa ating bansa.

What is Mystery Shopping? As the name implies, it is shopping on mystery - a task done to shop  without the knowledge of the store employees and manager to assess the quality of products and services they offer and observe the problems that needed to be addressed right away. That is why Mystery Shoppers are sometimes called Customer Experience Evaluator. Those problems are crucial to the marketing of the establishment or product and even service the company offers the prospective consumers.  Yes, Companies pay mystery shoppers (or market research evaluators) to do that.  It is mostly for management purposes.  It is sure hard to tell the customer experience if you have not been a customer.

Ano nga ba ng ‘Mystery Shopping’, wala pong kababalaghan dito, ito lamang po ay ang pagbili na para bagang isang under-cover agent. Ginagawa ito upang matiyak ang kalidad ng serbisyo ng mga empleyado maging ng mga produktong iniaalok ng mga kompanya. Ang layunin nito ay upang malaman ang mga dapat ayusin at paunlarin sa serbisyo at kalidad ng produkto. Ang mga ito ay malaki ang ginagampanan sa pagbebeta at pagtataguyod ng produkto sa mga mamimili o kostumer. Ang mismong kompanya o may-ari ng produkto o establisiyemento ang nagbabayad para isagawa ito. Mahirap nga naman makapagsabi ng karanasan ng kostumer kung hindi mismo naging kostumer noong particular na produkto o serbisyo.

Parenting Issue: Juvenile Attraction

My ten year-old daughter suddenly becomes so conscious with how she looks, the mirror on the wall that has been hanging there for a long time begging for attention now turned into my Angel Reign's favorite nook.

Ang aking sampung taong-gulang na anak ay bigla nang naging mapansinin sa hitsura niya, yung salamin na matagal nang nakasabit sa dingding na tila nagpapansin ay naging paboritong sulok ni Angel Reign.

Oh my! I am surprised to find-out that she is a little bit getting serious with having a crush. Imagine having her crush's name as her mobile hotspot's password?! Before I am just vexing her about this boy,  a friend's son, who is known to be her admirer.  Just a  not so serious thing at all.

Naku, nakagugulat na tila baga seryoso na siya sa pagkakaroon ng nagugustuhan. Mantakin mo pangalan ng crush niya ang password ng wifi hotspot ng cellphone niya?! Dati-rati nakikiharot lang ako sa kanya dun sa anak ng kaibigan namin na batang may gusto raw sa kanya. Biro-biro lang ba...

Children need to feel that parents are open to the idea of them having such feelings that naturally occur sideways during puberty. As their physical body changes, the hormones that brought those changes also affect their mental and emotional being.  And it is important that they know that this  is a 'welcome thing' because this is crucial getting their trust in this very important matter that really needs extreme parental guidance.

Kailangan ng ating mga anak na makaramdam na tayong kanilang mga magulang ay bukas sa ideya ng pagkakaroon nila ng gayong damdamin na kasabay na sumusulpot sa panahon ng pagdadalaga at pagbibinata. Habang unti-unting nagbabago ang kanilang pisikal na kaanyuan kaalinsabay nito ang mga pagbabago sa kanilang damdamin at kaisipan. At mahalagang malaman nila na 'ayos lang' sa atin ito dahil malaki ang kinalaman nito sa pagkuha natin ng tiwala nila sa mga ganito kaselang bagay na tunay na nangangailangan ng patnubay nating mga magulang.

If we, parents, get impulsive upon hearing the most handsome guy or the prettiest girl or the brightest in the class who has often been the hero in your child's stories  then took it negatively and scold the child about it, we are just teaching them to start lying sooner or later. Of course, we have a hint right away of what is 'between the lines' - no matter how we deny, this is part of their growing-up.  What is important is that we make sure, we are ready to listen and they are confident that we are a FRIEND.

Kung magpapa-bigla-bigla tayong mga magulang sa sandaling makarinig tayo ng mga kuwento ng ating anak kung saan bidang-bida ang pinaka-cute o pinakamatalinong bata sa klase - kapag nagalit tayo o nagsermon - matuturuan natin silang magsinungaling o magtago sa kinalaunan.  Syempre, nakakahalata na agad tayo kahit hindi pa tuwirang sabihin ng bata sa atin ang nararamdaman- kahit anong tanggi natin, bahagi ito ng paglaki nila. Ang mahalaga matiyak natin na handa tayong makinig at tiwala sila na tayo ay 'kaibigan'.

Parents too will feel secure having the confidence that children turn to them in all sort of these changes - along the way, advices on how the child should properly react on some situations they might encounter, we can freely give them without any hint of rejection on their part.