In today’s interconnected world, technology is everywhere – at home, in schools and on playgrounds. That means for children growing up in the digital age, technology isn’t just a tool, it’s part of their daily lives from infancy. While this reality brings incredible opportunities for learning and connection, we can’t ignore the challenges it poses for parents trying to nurture their young children.
As highlighted by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) during our Digital Well-being Symposium held last month in collaboration with New York University Abu Dhabi, it is crucial for parents to foster healthy digital habits within their families from an early age to ensure children's well-being online. As part of this, responsible technology use must start early, with the well-being of our youngest children front of mind.
Children born today are digital natives and will continue to benefit from incredible advances in technology as they grow up. By engaging with digital media in the right way they can enjoy its capability to support learning, language development, and social skills – and because of this most parents see technology as a positive force in their children’s lives. Indeed, the Digital Use Survey, whose findings we launched at the symposium, found that most parents (70 per cent) are satisfied with their young children’s screen time, especially when it is educational or culturally relevant.
But we can’t ignore the risks. There is, of course, another side to this story, with recent TV series and other forms of pop culture entertainment sparking a global conversation about the potentially devastating impact of social media on young people. This underscores a current knowledge gap in what constitutes the building blocks of healthy digital habits.
Through its World Early Childhood Development Movement, the ECA is focusing on spotlighting the needs and experiences of young children, from birth to the age of eight, in digital well-being conversations. We are doing this by trying to address gaps and myths that exist by conducting in-depth research and amplifying our findings regarding young children’s engagement with media. We want to ensure that the actual facts about today’s young children and their media use are incorporated into the crucial discussions from which this age group is often left out.
Children born today will benefit from incredible advances in technology as they grow up. But we can’t ignore the risks
If we want children to develop healthy digital habits, we must first create the right framework to support responsible use of technology in early childhood. We can do this by encouraging and enabling conversations around, and even more importantly with, young children and their experiences with digital tools. We can develop the research to inform policies and strategies that put the well-being of our young citizens first, so they can grow up in a world that embraces the myriads of opportunities offered by technology.
There are also practical things we can be doing as parents and caregivers. For example, it may be necessary to moderate the duration to ensure they spend adequate time on other developmental activities such as exercise, offline play, school, books, time with friends and family and quality sleep. Or parents can engage in technology use with their young children. This is especially important in early childhood as it gives the opportunity to model appropriate online behaviours such as protecting personal information and show appropriate and fun ways to use technology and when to stop.
Technology is woven into the fabric of modern childhood, and that is not going to change. But how children use technology, and how it shapes their development, depends largely upon us as citizens and parents, as educators and innovators. We need to create evidence-based guidelines and frameworks related to digital media and AI, strategies for creating high-quality digital content that prioritise young children’s learning and development, as well as explore key requirements to help initiate the draft of a culturally informed ratings framework for digital media and technology.
By embracing further research into young children’s digital well-being, we’ll ensure we have the right framework to ensure children are engaging with the digital world safely, setting clear boundaries, choosing quality content and balancing digital with real-world activities, so we can raise children who are not just tech-savvy but digitally healthy.
The goal is to empower our children to use screens wisely, building a foundation for a balanced, happy and connected life in a digital world.
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 1
Mata 11'
Chelsea 1
Alonso 43'
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
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'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
MORE ON INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Age: 30
Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging
Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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