As education researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders recognize the importance of computing, many coding kits (toys and apps) have emerged to help young children learn to code at home. However, how parents perceive and support their children's use of the kits at home are less understood. In this study, we performed semi-structured interviews with eighteen parents who obtained coding kits for their young children for home use. The results show parents expected their kids to have fun and meaningful interactions with the kits. In supporting the play, parents took on various roles, mostly acting as spectator, scaffolder, and teacher. While parents perceived benefits of coding kits like a changed perspective on coding, they also reported concerns, such as their limited programming knowledge to provide help. Finally, we reflect on design and research implications to develop coding kits that consider parents' perspectives and important roles in supporting young children's exploration with computational thinking.
We describe the design and deployment of Calmer, a technology that simulates key aspects of maternal skin-to-skin holding for prematurely born infants: its inspiration, approach, physical design, and introduction into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Maternal skin-to-skin holding can mitigate neonatal pain during medical procedures by as much as 50%, which can improve weight gain, sleep and later development. However, parents cannot always be present, and some infants are too fragile to be held. Interventions targeting this gap could be perceived as supplanting the mother in this intimate role, exposing her to depression and endangering her maternal bond. Over 10 years, we iteratively developed Calmer and demonstrated infant health benefit in a randomized clinical trial. Here, we report and reflect on pursuing this goal in a socially and technologically complex context: constraints, strategies, features, reception of the device, and surprises, such as leading to mothers feeling channeled rather than replaced.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376539
New parents often experience significant stress as they take on new roles and responsibilities. Stress management and mental wellbeing are two areas in which personal informatics (PI) research has gained attention, and there is an opportunity to investigate how parenting stress can be mitigated through PI practices. In this paper, we present the results of a co-designed technology probe study through which we deployed individualized self-trackers with new parents. We investigate the stress management topics new parents are interested in tracking and how and with what goals---they engage in self-directed PI practices. Our findings indicate that PI practices can potentially enable parents to: re-discover positive aspects of their everyday lives; identify better-suited stress management strategies; and facilitate spousal communication about shared responsibilities. We discuss how self-tracking experiences for the mental wellness of parents can be better designed.
Given the significant potential of shared book reading to promote children's learning, the design of e-books has focused on maximising this learning experience. However, recent studies have begun to show that shared reading is a broader opportunity for the family to spend quality time together. Our study aims to explore this perspective further, focusing on the types of parent-child interactions during shared reading and the ways in which shared reading may foster intimacy when parents and children read digital books. We used cultural probes and contextual interviews to capture the shared reading experiences of 7 parents and 6 children in their homes. We discuss the different nuances of the shared reading practices identified. We use these findings to suggest new design opportunities that support the complex practices of shared reading with technologies at home.
The design of wearable applications supporting children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) requires a deep understanding not only of what is possible from a clinical standpoint but also how the children might understand and orient towards wearable technologies, such as a smartwatch. Through a series of participatory design workshops with children with ADHD and their caregivers, we identified tensions and challenges in designing wearable applications supporting the self-regulation of children with ADHD. In this paper, we describe the specific challenges of smartwatches for this population, the balance between self-regulation and co-regulation, and tensions when receiving notifications on a smartwatch in various contexts. These results indicate key considerations—from both the child and caregiver viewpoints—for designing technological interventions supporting children with ADHD.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376837