Before you even think about running to stores that sell electronics to give your child that new mobile gadget that he or she has always wanted, think about the repercussions first. Are they really as helpful as they are, or is this form of modern technology harming them without you knowing it?
Hand any 2-year old an electronic gadget, and you can usually trust the kid to do exactly what they need to do. They seem to know exactly what to do, which could amaze parents thinking that their kids are so smart. For child development experts however, they do not see what amazing feats your child is doing now; what they see are the possible long-term effects on your child’s brain.
Here are just some of the effects that these electronic gadgets have on your children:
- Impaired learning and cognitive delays. Before a child reaches the age of 5, their brains actually absorb as much learnings as they can, preparing them for more difficult challenges as they grow older. This is the phase when they improve their communications skills, as well as their motor skills and emotional well-being. Unfortunately, these things are gained through active play and human interaction, and not through staring at a screen. This is why you see a lot of delays in children that are too exposed to electronic gadgets, from language delay to attention deficit.
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Messed up bedtimes. If you have a child that is exposed to gadgets, then there is also a huge chance that your child is sleep-deprived. The glow of laptop and tablet screens actually mess up your child’s bedtime, which is why researchers find that 75% of sleep-deprived children are actually those whose parents do not regulate their use of technology too much. Of course, when a child is sleep-deprived, this also affects their study habits and their performance in school, as they are unable to perform at their optimum and would cause them to lack focus as well.
- Child aggression. Child development experts have also found that the occurrence of child aggression is common in kids that have been exposed to modern technology too much. Traditional outdoor play is what encourages a child to be more sociable and to have a calmer disposition, something that modern gadgets could be a hindrance to. It is also seen that temper tantrums are even more common for toddlers who have gotten used to staring at tablet and computer screens as opposed to those who do not.
So the next time you feel the urge to hand your tablet over to your child when he gets into one of his moods, stop and think about it first. Yes, that gadget could keep your child quiet for hours and would allow you to go about your regular routine a little bit more peacefully. But when you think about the long-term effects, especially when it comes to your child’s brain development and emotional well-being, you’ll find that giving him a different activity would also keep him busy but would not have the same ill effects.