Screen time in our kindergarten classrooms - surely it's unnecessary

I apologise if this offends anyone, but I feel concerned about smart devices and tablets being used in our children's kindergarten spaces.

As I type on my laptop with my smart phone sitting next to me, I appreciate the positives of technology. Technology for me has helped me to build my business and stay connected with my friends and family.

However, I can't seem to understand the need for screens to be used in our kindergarten classrooms.

Yes there are fantastic apps that teach children their colours, shapes, numbers, and letters. However, there's also resources called blocks, pencils, and paper which I feel taught me my colours, shapes, numbers, and letters quite well.

As a child development therapist I have completed hours of study about the importance of gross motor and fine motor movements for the developing brain. As an Exercise Physiologist I am obsessed about how movement and play boosts the amount of oxygen sent to our developing brain. 

So I am extremely concerned about our little learners sitting stationary with an ipad when they could be crawling to find shapes in the garden, or using a good old pencil to practice their letters and numbers.

Have we gone too far by setting up technology stations in our learning environments?

Do we really need 4 year olds learning how to type and use a smart device?

Of course older children will need to learn the ins and outs of technology because their employment will inevitably depend on it. But surely we can encourage gross motor and fine motor development for our kindergarten children, before sticking them in front of a screen?

Maybe I'm being too harsh or judgmental. Or maybe we all need to go back to the basics of learning and development - the brain doesn't need fancy apps to learn, the brain needs movement and play.

Come and share your thoughts on my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/playmoveimprove/photos/a.161907027670747/583242175537228