Rob Hughes and Alastair van Heerden - co-founders of playtandem.com

Tech Tots: Early ideas on parenting in a digital age

Kids EN ↓ 6 episodes

A podcast to help you navigate the coming wave of big tech changes for little people. Welcome to TechTots , a podcast designed to help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of digital technologies impacting pre-schoolers. Brought to you by playTandem.com and the team at EarlyIdeas.org, this series digs into how the crucial intersection of early childhood development and the digital revolution. Join us as we explore the effects of technology on the next generation, offering insights, expert opinions, and practical advice for parents and caregivers. Whether you’re a tech-savvy parent or ju...

Author

Rob Hughes and Alastair van Heerden - co-founders of playtandem.com

Episodes

Tech-for-good Tots - an interview with Dama Sathianathan of Bethnal Green Ventures 24.02.2026 31:42

The conversation delves into the ethical considerations of tech for good, the origins and philosophy of Bethnal Green Ventures, the impact of technology on early childhood, the challenges of building tech for good companies, and the future of technology and children. It also explores the identification of tech for good and the balance between impact and commercial reality. Takeaways Be intentional...

Episode 5: From Puppets to Pixels: Learning from Sesame Street's Playbook for the AI Revolution 07.07.2025 48:52

What does a healthy digital life look like for a child? As AI and algorithm-driven content reshape our world at a dizzying pace, parents are left wondering how to keep up. In this episode, host Rob Hughes sits down with Michael Preston , Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop , for a wide-ranging conversation recorded recently in Abu Dhabi. Michael shares insights fro...

AI in the Toybox: Navigating Smart Toys & Child Development with Dr. Emily Goodacre from the University of Cambridge 23.05.2025 22:20

AI-powered toys are no longer science fiction – they're rapidly entering our children's playrooms. But what do we really know about their impact? In this episode of TechTots, we're joined by Dr. Emily Goodacre, a developmental psychologist and Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, to explore the burgeoning world of AI toys. We dig into what defines these "smart" playthings, the poten...

Babies and toddlers are not just small adults - in conversation with Prof Sam Wass 28.03.2025 27:33

In this episode, Professor Sam Wass from the Institute for the Science of Early Years discusses how children's brains process information very differently from adults , particularly in noisy environments where they struggle to filter sounds. This ability to focus develops slowly . A key insight is the importance of predictability and rhythm in early learning, which helps young brains form stable p...

'the science bit' - Why early childhood is so special 19.03.2025 47:20

In this second Episode, we'll dig into the science of early childhood... and why this period lays the foundations. Tori, Head of Marketing at Tandem (and expert on early childhood by virtue of being a mum) is 'in conversation with' Tandem CEO (and Assistant Prof at LSHTM) Dr Rob Hughes. They'll talk us through an intro to the science of early childhood development, including what we mean by earl...

Why TechTots? we need to talk more about the big changes that tech is bringing for little people 27.02.2025 27:59

In this episode we'll explain why we think we all need to think more about the big changes that technology is bringing for little people. While walking around the historic Brunswick Square Gardens in London Alastair and Rob will introduce themselves and will explain why we wanted to start this podcast (and to build Tandem ). In short, young lives are too important to leave the (real) tech bros. ...