Survey Shows Canadian Parents Concerned with Tech Usage This Summer But Also Believe Tech Skills Important For Kids’ Future

Toronto, ON, May 1, 2019 – A survey of Canadian parents taken by MakerKids, the award-winning, Canadian-based children’s STEM education company, reveals parent concerns about tech usage despite recognizing that their children need to build technology skills.

“We polled five hundred Canadian parents to learn about their concerns and interests around their children’s technology usage as summer approaches, when kids spend more time at home and may not be monitored as closely,” says Jennifer Turliuk, CEO and founder of the first ever maker space for kids in the world, MakerKids. The company offers award-winning Robotics, Coding and Minecraft after-school programs and camps to children in grades one through eight.

The survey reveals an interesting dichotomy:

• Majority of Canadian parents, 64%, are concerned with their child’s technology usage this summer
• 51.4% of parents do not have a plan in place or are uncertain how to manage their child’s technology use this summer
• 78.2% of parents are interested in learning how to build a healthy relationship for their child with technology
• 93% of parents believe technology is important for their children to understand as it is the future

View survey results in an infographic here.

“Parents want to arm their children with skills for the future, but have legitimate concerns when it comes to technology usage. They aren’t sure how to reconcile these two opposing mentalities,” adds Turliuk. She offers healthy tech tips for parents this summer which can be found on the MakerKids blog, such as choosing meaningful and productive activities, establishing summer expectations or rules, getting directly involved in your child’s learning (spending time using technology together), setting appropriate parental locks on devices, and exploring something new like robotics or coding.

“MakerKids empowers kids to be creators, not just consumers – so they can develop the positive relationship with technology that parents want, while building confidence and real-world skills to become the leaders of tomorrow.” She stresses the importance of exposing children to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning at an early age to increase their chances of entering these career paths.

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For more info, visit MakerKids.com , watch our video or follow us here FB, TW, Insta. For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:

Jennifer Turliuk

CEO, MakerKids
www.makerkids.com
416-385-3577 x 5

[email protected]

 

About MakerKids

Founded in 2010, MakerKids is the leading provider of STEM programs for kids designed and created by highly trained industry professionals and makers (engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers and speakers). MakerKids’ CEO Jennifer Turliuk is a graduate of Singularity University at NASA. The first makerspace for kids in the North America, it has been named “Best Kids’ Workshops” (Toronto Life Magazine), Top 5 Kids’ Digital Tech Programs (BlogTO), Top 10 Awesome Birthday Parties (Today’s Parent), Summer Camp Recommended (Toronto Star), Reader’s Choice, Maker Faire 2017 Winner, NextGen Franchising Global Competition Winner, Telus Pitch Community Impact Award Winner and is Accredited by the Ontario Camps Association. It’s been featured on Breakfast Television, CTV, CBC, Wired, Forbes and more. Thousands of kids have taken MakerKids’ STEM programs in Coding, Robotics and Minecraft. MakerKids’ camps, after school and weekend programs and birthday parties that empower children to be creators, not just consumers.

 

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