Children’s screen time negatively affects their development

Overuse of technological devices, especially phones, tablets, etc., is known to be associated with delays in children’s development. Researchers say that children who use screens more often have worse results on developmental tests.

A new study conducted in Canada and published in JAMA Pediatric showed that children who spent more time in front of a screen at the age of two had worse outcomes on developmental tests at age three compared to those who spent less time in front of a screen. The study, which involved 2441 mothers and children, found deficiencies and delays in developmental outcomes such as language, communication, motor skills or socio-emotional health.

According to a press release from the University of Calgary, researcher Sheri Madigan and the study’s co-authors recommend that families create a family media plan to limit screen time and encourage interaction with others.

Dr. Deniz Özkılıç Kabul, a developmental psychologist who is not connected to the research, said, “We have been warning parents about screen exposure for years, but many families still make children sit in front of phones or tablets or televisions about distractions and eating.”

The great danger that awaits children who have previously increased the use of technological devices!
Kabul also touched on the subject in his article titled “In children with increasing screen time, we observe negative situations such as eye contact weakness, not gaining the ability to wait, and not developing the ability to point in the clinical environment. There are emotion cards to support children’s emotional development and empathy skills. We used to use these cards to teach emotions to our children with special needs. Nowadays, we use it for almost every child. In fact, if there is no deviation in the development of the child, this skill should emerge spontaneously in the natural learning process, by taking models and seeing.”

Experts recommend high-quality, supervised programs for 1 hour a day and recommend that children, especially at a young age, should be kept away from many screens such as television, video, tablet, phone, computer as much as possible.