Natasha Sabrin Khan gives you a lowdown on the detriments of children staring at computer screens regularly
It is now common to find a toddler staring at the iPad while the parent spoonfeeds the baby in diapers. If you have a two year old baby, most likely your smart devices are loaded with children’s apps. But, what are the consequences of letting toddlers spend time in front of screens regularly?
Effects on health
Long hours of looking at screens tire the eyes and can affect eyesight in the long run. Your child’s sleep pattern may be hampered if she is exposed to the bright screen before bedtime. The hindrance in regular sleep cycle will make your bundle of joy cranky and this entire disruption is utterly unhealthy. Too much screen time also means little time for physical activity- which results in child obesity.
Effects on motor skills
Your child might be able to sing the alphabet song, but what really matters more at this age is their ability to stash blocks and kick a beach ball. If they have the freedom to spend hours in front of screens regularly, then their motor skills and hand to eye co-ordination may not develop properly.
Nabita, mother of a five year old son from recently shifted to Singapore from Bangladesh, comments on her son’s condition said. “During his school assessment , I came to know that my healthy five year old boy has deficiency in age appropriate motor skills-due to his over exposure to screens.”
Effects on mind
Kids who spend too much time looking at the screen have a hard time concentrating on reading boks because their brains become too accustomed to bright, moving images. Their attention span becomes much shorter and they find it hard to focus on immobile items and get bored very easily. Not such a good news for grades either.
Effects on social skills
It is essential that children communicate with others to learn social and cognitive behaviour. Kids who spend ample time playing and interacting with others, are found to have shown more aptitude at continuing a meaningful conversation by age two compared to kids who are more into having daily dose of screen time.
These are some deductions from researches conducted by the AAP (American Association of Pediatrics)- which emphasizes on spending zero hours of screen from birth till their second birthday.
When asked if his kids love the iPad, Steve Jobs comments, “They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology they use at home.” CEO of 3D Robotics, Chris Anderson, once explained he is an overly restrictive parent about tech use at home, “Because I have seen the dangers of technology firsthand.”
If big bosses of new generation tech feel that kids should have minimum or no exposure to screen time, then maybe as parents, we need to re-think before handing over smart devices to our toddler so that we can feed and nurture them in peace.