Why you need to protect your child from gadgets under 13 years old

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The vast majority of parents believe that a phone, TV or computer is the ideal way to keep their child busy. This article provides the pediatrician's arguments about why such a choice is a gross delusion that only harms the mental and physical development of children.

You will also find out how much time a child is entitled to "digitally" from birth to adulthood.

I have a daughter. Lisa is three years old, and she is crazy about the tablet, on which you can watch your favorite "Peppa Pig" at any time. I don't see anything wrong with that, especially since the cartoon is very cheerful and informative. It seems to me that such content develops positive qualities in my daughter and teaches something new. Also, I will not bend my heart and admit that a positive pig draws the attention of my irrepressible happiness to itself and gives my wife and me some time to breathe. The whole family seems to benefit!

However, my vision of the situation was shaken when I read an article by Cris Rowan, a renowned American pediatrician who studies the impact of modern technology on the development of babies. I invite you to familiarize yourself with the "inconvenient" arguments of the author, which will not be easy for such imperfect parents like me to accept.

Improper brain stimulation

An infant's brain increases threefold in size from birth to two years of age and continues to grow until the age of 21. The development of the brain at an early age is determined by environmental stimuli or their absence. Stimulating the brain with excessive exposure to gadgets, the Internet or television, studies show, is associated with cognitive delays, increased impulsivity, and a decrease in the ability to self-regulate.

Developmental delay

A static pastime entails a lack of movement and can lead to a delay in physical and mental development. This problem has become apparent in the United States, where every third child enters school with a developmental delay, which is clearly reflected in his academic performance. Mobility improves attention and the ability to learn new things. Scientists argue that the use of electronic technology harms the development of children and negatively affects their learning.

Obesity

Television and computer games are examples of non-food habits that are directly related to the overweight epidemic. Among children who indulge in portable devices, obesity is 30% more common. One in four young Canadian and one in three American youths suffer from broadbone syndrome.

Jokes aside, 30% of overweight children will be diagnosed with diabetes, and in addition, obese individuals are at a higher risk of early stroke and heart attack, seriously shortening their life expectancy. Scientists are ringing bells, urging everyone to monitor the obesity of children, because the first generation of the 21st century has a great chance of dying before their parents.

Loss of sleep

Dry figures for the United States say that 60% of parents do not control at all how closely their children are friends with all kinds of gadgets, and three-quarters of families allow children to carry electronics with them to bed. The glowing screens of phones, tablets and laptops interferes with the onset of sleep, which leads to reduced rest time and lack of sleep. Scientists put a lack of sleep on a par with malnutrition: both deplete the body, and, accordingly, negatively affect the assimilation of school lessons.

Mental illness

A number of foreign studies draw clear parallels between video games, the Internet, television and their negative impact on the psyche of young people. So, gambling addiction causes dissatisfaction with life, an increase in anxiety and an increase in depression. The worldwide network, in turn, leads to isolation and the development of phobias. This list of mental illnesses can be safely supplemented with bipolar disorder, psychosis, behavioral disorders, autism and attachment disorder, that is, a violation of close emotional contact with parents. For your information, one in six Canadian children has some kind of mental illness, which is often treated only with strong psychotropic drugs.

Aggressiveness

Let's repeat the hackneyed truth: harshness on TV and in computer games is reflected in real life. Just take a close look at the increasing frequency of physical and sexual violence in today's online media, films and TV shows: sex, abuse, torture, torture and murder.

The child receives a ready-made pattern of behavior that he can implement in the surrounding reality. Most importantly, many studies have come to the same conclusion: screen violence has both short-term and long-term effects - aggression may take a long time to emerge.

Digital dementia

Scientific observations prove that TV addiction between the ages of one and three leads to problems concentrating by the seventh year of life. Children who cannot concentrate simply lose the ability to learn and remember something. A constant flow of fast information leads to changes in the brain, and then to dementia - a decrease in cognitive activity with the loss of previously acquired knowledge and practical skills and the difficulty or impossibility of acquiring new ones.

Addiction

The more parents check emails, shoot monsters, and watch TV shows, the more they distance themselves from their children. Lack of attention from adults is often compensated by the same gadgets and digital technologies. In some cases, the baby himself becomes addicted to portable devices, the Internet and television. Every eleventh child between the ages of 8 and 18 is a digital addict.

Harmful radiation

In 2011, the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radio emissions from cell phones and other wireless devices as a potential carcinogen, placing it in group 2B “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. However, it should be borne in mind that children are more sensitive to various negative influences, since their brains and immune systems are still developing. Therefore, scientists say, the risks for a young and already formed organism cannot be equated. It also discusses the notion that RF emissions should be reclassified as 2A (probable carcinogen) rather than current 2B.

Conclusion

To conclude his article, Chris Rowan recommends a time frame that is appropriate for children of different ages.

Age	Time	TV without violence	Mobile gadgets	Violent video games	Violent video games	Online violence and / or pornography
0–2	not at all	never	never	never	never	never
3–5	1 hour a day		never	never	never	never
6–12	2 hours a day		never	never	never	never
13–18	2 hours a day			limit of 30 minutes per day		never

I dare to assume that the vast majority of children go beyond the limits given in the table every day. Should you panic about this? Over time, each family will know their answer, right or wrong.

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