Chapter 9: Constructing the Child at Play: From the Schooled Child to Technotoddlers and Back Again

How do century-old discourses converge in modern notions of childhood, making it difficult to justify play in kindergarten yet simultaneously constructing young children as digital prodigies online? This chapter explores three constructions—the schooled child, the developing organism, and the digital native shaping new literacies practices—in play-starved classrooms under high-stakes testing mandates and online environments where technotoddlers tap through touchscreens on mobile technologies.