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“My two-year-old is very difficult to deal with, he has been running here and there since he started walking and there is no one at home to look after him, so I put on a channel of children’s songs on my phone. He will be watching quietly.”
“I’ll go to work and my husband’s mother can’t cope with my baby so we’ll keep the children’s channel on TV for her. She’s starting to talk like the characters, but now at 4, she’s only talking like the characters.”
“I teach my child numbers and colors through children’s songs. She too will watch these videos without batting an eye.”
These are the information some mothers have shared with us about their children.
But “none of the environments mentioned above are child-friendly,” says pediatrician Manoj.
That is, parents who want to calm their children play some children’s songs or cartoons on their smartphones to calm them down.
Dr. Manoj shared with BBC Tamil some information that parents who say that should be aware of. From a conversation with him.
Don’t call
The Indian Academy of Paediatrics recommends that children under the age of two should avoid giving mobile phones.
Children aged 2 – 5 years should be given less than one hour of mobile phone use per day.
If they use mobile phones for more than an hour, some physical and mental problems may occur.
Children develop the ability to speak at the age of 2-5. Excessive phone viewing can delay speech development. Some children may behave excessively.
Long time mobile use mainly disrupts sleep. Exposure to too much blue light inhibits the secretion of the hormone melatonin. No sleep without it. If you don’t sleep well, you can’t concentrate on your studies. Laziness increases.
Physically speaking, body weight may increase. Problems like eye irritation may occur, if not sitting properly, neck pain and back pain are likely to occur.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), frequent headaches and the need to wear glasses are all risks associated with looking at the phone for too long.
Doctor Manoj says you should avoid giving a mobile phone to a child under 2 years of age
Parents need attention
This one hour session is meant for children 2-5 and must be accompanied by parents. They need to monitor what their children are watching.
Check if they are taking breaks at proper intervals. Parents should also ensure that they are sitting properly.
Even with online classes it is not good to look at the phone continuously for a long time. Child-friendly breaks are essential.
Teaching children by watching songs or videos on mobile can be one way of teaching. There will be no dialogue in it.
This conversational skill is enhanced when a parent or teacher teaches, or interacts with children of the same age. They learn words quickly.
Similarly, the moment we take mobile phones away from children, they tend to overreact. So it is better not to give the mobile.
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To what extent does it affect brain development?
Looking at the phone for a long time first affects the memory.
They don’t pay attention to studies. If they are sleep deprived they will not be able to sit and focus on one thing for long. There will be a delay in the development of learning skills.
Corona came last two years. But the result will be known for the next ten years.
Even as these children grow up, we can clearly see the impact of increased mobile use on their functioning.
What is the solution?
Usually children who are addicted to mobile phone use like this can be weaned off slowly.
If you tell them to stop immediately, they may overreact or become stressed.
They don’t sleep well. They will not eat. They don’t talk properly with their parents. So give them enough time to come out of it.
Children should also be encouraged to play more. Then they get tired. Chances of claiming the phone will be gone.
Allowing them to play with children of the same age can reduce their propensity for smartphone use.
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Encouraging children to do physical work can help them wean off cell phones slowly.
Similarly, some parents believe that watching videos on cell phones is the only problem, but television is not that much of a problem.
Speaking about this, Dr. Manoj said, “Television or mobile content is the same. The only thing is, the eye strain may be a little less while watching TV. Likewise, parents can easily monitor it,” he says.
Similarly on TV, any scientifically useful programs should be shown. Otherwise, there is not much difference between the two, says Dr. Manoj.
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