self-occupy or play – and play is learning at that age.” Learning how to interact with other people is an essential in life. We learn this skill at a young age when we go to daycare or have play dates with other kids. If kids only know how to watch a screen and drown everything out around them, then they will have no idea how to have a conversation with another person.
Getting kids hooked on tablets and phones at a very young age can cause permanent damage to their developing brains.
In the article, What Screen Time Can Really Do To Kids’ Brains, Dr. Aric Sigman states that “The ability to focus, to concentrate, to lend attention, to sense other people’s attitudes and communicate with them, to build a large vocabulary—all those abilities are harmed. Much of the issue lies with the fact that what makes tablets and iPhones so great—dozens of stimuli at your fingertips, and the ability to process multiple actions simultaneously—is exactly what young brains do not need.” Letting our kids use these devices so much is not worth the risk. Kids brains need to be developed properly without damaging them and risking important abilities they will need to learn for their
future.
However, some people believe that these electronics actually help children develop new skills and are good for learning. However, kids using electronics as a way of learning is not good at all for a child's young, developing brain. In the CNN article, Playing to learn: The trouble with electronic toys, states that “A recent study from Northern Arizona University found that electronic toys such as a baby laptop or cell phone do not promote language development in young children as well as books and traditional toys such as wooden puzzles, shape-sorters, and blocks. Traditional books and toys can require more time and personal connection than electronic ones, including games and videos on smartphones and iPads.” If they adapt to this type of learning, they will not know how to learn in a real classroom with a teacher or develop new skills with toys. A child’s brain takes its experiences and using them to learn basic skills. If the only experiences they have are with electronics, then children will not know how to learn traditionally.
Young kids should not be able to use with electronics because they will not know how to play or interact with others and they are not good for a child's mental and physical health. So, should we really take the risk of jeopardizing our children’s future by letting them use these devices?