Before you hand your smartphone or iPad to your kid to keep 'em quiet, know this: pediatric occupational therapist Chris Rowan has outlined 10 reasons why you shouldn't.
Children aged 3 to 5 who are exposed to technology more than four hours a day - including use of handheld devices like cell phones, tablets, and electronic games - could develop serious behavioral problems and even child developmental delays.
So, Rowan is calling parents, teachers, and even the government to ban the use of all handheld devices for children under the age of 12 years. In this post over at Huffington Post, Rowan explained 10 reasons why, summarized below:
- Exposure to technology is bad for rapid brain growth of children from 0 to 2 years of age
- Technology use restricts movement, and thus results in delayed physical development
- TV and video game use correlates with increased obesity
- 75% of kids who use technology in the bedroom have sleep deprivation
- Technology overuse is a factor in child depression, anxiety, and other mental illness
- Violent media can cause child aggression
- "Digital dementia": too much digital media cause decreased concentration and memory
- 10% of children aged 8 to 18 are addicted to technology
- Potential radiation emission from digital devices
- The way children are raised and educated with technology is unsustainable
Rowan shares a guideline on the appropriate use of technology for kids of varying ages:
See more about baby and kids at NeatoBambino
An iPad or a smartphone is just a tool, and like any other tool, it's as good or bad as how it's used. My under 2-year old plays "Endless Reader" on the iPad and has learned to recognize the shapes of letters and words, and the sounds they make. That app is kind of ridiculously impressive, and you should check it out if you want to see an example of technology being used to provide a superior learning experience. Other apps have been very effective at teaching her colors and shapes and counting. A good app can be even more interactive, dynamic, and engaging than a See-and-Say or Speak-and-Spell, or any other good toy. That it involves a touch screen doesn't suddenly make it a hazard to children.
TV isn't bad for kids, either- it's commercial TV's vast array of idiotic content presented in alternating 5 -10 minute segments of content followed by 30 seconds, 30 seconds, 30 seconds, etc of ads which is teaching them nothing and practically conditioning them to have attention problems. The PBS app is great because it makes a vast amount of quality educational content available for her to explore at her own pace and without commercials or having to worry about her running across inappropriate content. I think she has actually learned quite a bit watching Curious George, Peg + Cat, Daniel Tiger, etc..
Should you let your kid do nothing but play on the iPad all day, or take it to bed with them? Of course not, but you don't have to shield your kid from technology like it's the devil, and you'll just be doing them a disservice if you do- the fact is it will be an even bigger part of their lives than it is in ours. Your child will be worse off being unfamiliar with it, and could very well fall behind their peers by missing out on its massive potential as a learning tool.