Smartphones and Your Child's Development

Let’s face it, keeping a young child preoccupied isn’t always easy. Now, with everyone carrying a smart phone, it is so easy to pass our phone to our youngsters to keep them busy. And while we are thinking our kid can get around a smart phone better than I can and looks so smart doing it, we may be hurting them more than giving them a foot up on technology.

We all know letting toddlers who are younger than two years old watch TV old is highly advised against. What about our cell phones, iPad and tablets and so much more? We use this technology so much and we let our children use it as much as we do, yet research lags behind on “how does this technology affect the growth of a still developing brain and emotional system?

Well, here it is…using a smartphone or iPad to pacify a toddler may impede their ability to learn self-regulation, according to researchers. In a commentary for the journal, Pediatrics, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine reviewed available types of interactive media and raised “important questions regarding their use as educational tools”, according to a news release.

The researchers say that although the adverse effects of television and video on very small children was well understood, society’s understanding of the impact of mobile devices on the pre-school brain has been outpaced by how much children are already using them. The researchers warned that using a tablet or smartphone to divert a child’s attention could be detrimental to “their social-emotional development”.

“If these devices become the predominant method to calm and distract young children, will they be able to develop their own internal mechanisms of self-regulation?” the scientists asked.

Use of interactive screen time below three years of age could also impair a child’s development of the skills needed for math and science, which are the foundations to successful early school years. However, the reverse has been found for children with autism; some studies suggested to the benefits to toddlers’ use of mobile devices including early literacy skills and better academic engagement.

Jenny Radesky, clinical instructor in developmental-behavioral pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, published her team’s findings. She urged parents to increase “direct human to human interaction” with their offspring. She also encouraged more “unplugged” family interaction in general and suggested young children may benefit from “a designated family hour” of quality time spent with relatives – without any television and mobile devices being involved.

The researchers pointed out that while there is plenty of expert evidence that children under 30 months cannot learn as well from television and videos as they can from human interaction, there has been insufficient investigation into whether interactive applications on mobile devices produce a similar result.

Radesky questioned whether the use of smartphones and tablets could interfere with the ability to develop empathy and problem-solving skills and elements of social interaction that are typically learned during unstructured play and communication with peers.

Playing with building blocks may help a toddler more with early math skills than interactive electronic gadgets, she said.

“These devices may replace the hands-on activities important for the development of sensorimotor and visual-motor skills, which are important for the learning and application of math and science,” Radesky said.

There is evidence that well-researched early-learning television programs, such as Sesame Street, and electronic books and learn-to-read applications on mobile devices can help vocabulary and reading comprehension, the team found, but only once children are much closer to school age. Radesky recommended that parents try applications before considering allowing a child to use them. At this time there are more questions than answers when it comes to mobile media.