The digital era has brought a lot of technological advancement in various levels of usage. Smartphone, iPads and computers have become regular devices in homes and in day to day lives of people. Children have become fast learners too to adapt to this digital era hence they are able to use them at a very young age. However, usage of these devices by children has brought a lot of concern to parents and the society at large as their effects on the children’s’ lives, health and general performance is not known. Interactive screen devices have become a common phenomenon in people’s lives and children are also moving towards this trend as it is being promoted by parents who use these devices as bribery or incentives to coerce children in fulfilling the desires of the parents.
Toddlers are in a period where they brains are in a stage of rapid growth. At this stage the form of earning for toddlers is by interaction and observation of how the people around them are interacting. Introducing screen interactive devices to their lives may hinder the necessary development of the brain. The distraction caused by the screens may hinder the development of social, language and emotional skills. This may lead to a child not knowing how to express his feelings, identification and connecting with relationships. Toddlers should be physically active exploring their environments and developing their bodies through physical play. Inactivity in a toddler is harmful to his health and physical well-being and that’s why the American Academy for Pediatrics do not recommend toddlers to have access to screen time (Radesky et al., 2015).
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According to American Heart Association experts, screen time for toddlers causes inactivity as they get stimulations from the activities from the devices which is a risk factor as it may lead to heart disorders and future conditions such as obesity (Barnett et al., 2018). Toddlers learn better with materials they can physically interact with compared to seeing on screens. Cognitive development in toddlers is very important and the best way to facilitate this development is by using materials that are tangible and which a child can play with. In children between the age of 3-4 who can now communicate and understand speech, reading physical books to them is attributed to better comprehension rate compared to reading electronic books. The distraction caused by notifications and call sounds distract both the parents and the child from focusing on the story.
Doctors have raised concern that too much exposure to screen have negative effects on the attention span and concentration of a child (Kabali et al., 2015). Appetite control is also an issue that has been associated with exposure to screen. Older children are required to engage in vigorous outdoor activities as they are young and energetic however, it is not possible as electronic gadgets have taken this time from the children. Face-to-face interactions is very useful in children as it helps them learn various environments of interactions and understand various emotions portrayed by people.
While screen interaction in children can be attributed to various negative aspects in the lives of children, it also comes with some advantages when used responsibly or in a controlled environment. Application that help children learn various words have been attributed to be more effective compared to the passive means such as reading from books. Additionally, some parents are mostly away from home and screen devices have helped in keeping constant communication between parents and children through applications such as FaceTime and skype. Introducing children into the world of technology can also help them in shaping their career directions by establishing technological skills at an early age which will be very helpful in the future.
References
Radesky, J. S., Schumacher, J., & Zuckerman, B. (2015). Mobile and interactive media use by young children: the good, the bad, and the unknown. Pediatrics , 135(1), 1-3.
Barnett, T. A., Kelly, A. S., Young, D. R., Perry, C. K., Pratt, C. A., Edwards, N. M., & American Heart Association Obesity Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young; and Stroke Council. (2018). Sedentary behaviors in today’s youth: Approaches to the prevention and management of childhood obesity: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation , 138(11), e142-e159.
Kabali, H. K., Irigoyen, M. M., Nunez-Davis, R., Budacki, J. G., Mohanty, S. H., Leister, K. P., & Bonner, R. L. (2015). Exposure and use of mobile media devices by young children. Pediatrics , 136(6), 1044-1050.
