The COVID-19 pandemic emotionally has been difficult on us all. One area that has been dramatically impacted due to the stress, isolation and uncertainty are children.
Research published by The Hospital for Sick Children on child and youth mental health in the pandemic has confirmed that “children were faring mostly worse, and occasionally better, compared to their pre-pandemic selves“. Particularly disturbing of the results was that there was a “significant proportion of otherwise healthy school-aged children who experienced deterioration in a number of mental health domains, including depression (37.6 per cent), anxiety (38.7 per cent), irritability (40.5 per cent) and attention span (40.8 per cent)”.
Nevertheless, despite the daunting statistics, parents are using a variety of tools at home to help address these serious issues. Equally important, technology and art can help to pivot our mental well being. Creative activities such as drawing have been scientifically shown to relieve stress, aid communication, and help arrest cognitive decline (Harvard). Expressive Art Therapy has been an effective tool for children in negative situations and dealing with trauma.
Technology and Art to help children’s mental health
Kid friendly technologists myFirst has released its latest addition to their line of kids’ tech products that will provide families with a creative release. The myFirst Sketch Book is a revolutionary 10” LCD sketch pad designed exclusively for the aspiring artist to imagine, draw and save their masterpiece on this paperless device with a simple button click.
By pairing with the Sketch Book App, the real time drawing mode enables parents to view the kid’s drawing on the smartphone or table at the same time when the kids draw or write on the Sketch Book.
Parents can retrieve their kid’s artwork as a digital copy from the Sketch Book and save it directly into their smartphones or tablets wirelessly with the help of the myFirst Sketch Book App which is compatible with iOS and Android devices. Parents are able to immediately share the masterpiece with friends and family.
Features and Specifications
- Tablet
- Dimensions: 256 x 160.5 x 11.7mm
- Weight: 335g
- Battery Capacity: 1000mAh
- Screen Size: 10” LCD sketch pad
- Pen
- Dimensions: 138.3*11.8mm
- Weight: 12g
- Battery Capacity: 80mAh
- Features: Pressure Sensitive, Pen On Paper Experience, Instant Digitisation, Free Leather Case
For more information or to acquire the: myFirst Sketch Book
About myFirst
myFirst aims to reinvent the way kids learn – while embracing the technological era.
