Is smart technology really bad for toddlers?
- Mussawwir Sterrett
- February 7, 2019
- STEM
- kids, technology
- 0 Comments
I ask this question because there are a lot of articles out there discussing the pros and cons of letting toddlers ages 2-5 use smart handheld technology. This can range from smartphones and tablets but not necessarily laptops as they are not easy to hold and easily mobile. Nowadays you can go anywhere in public such as a mall, playground, even a restaurant and you will be kids on some type of handheld technology to hold their attention while the parents attend to other activities.
“Experts” are stating that is not healthy to introduce a 2-4 year old to smart handheld technology as it may have a negative effect on their brain development and hinder their social skills.
I have 3 kids and I remember when my then 9-year-old daughter got her first Apple iPhone in the early 2000’s. I was totally against it not because I thought it would be a distraction but mainly because of the price. After a couple of months, I noticed that she was really into the phone and it was a new pastime favorite item to her. Of course, Angry Birds and other similar games were the entertainment at the time but it became an issue trying to get her to put the phone away at certain times. But children 8-9 years old are more spoken, obedient and tend to be more attentive than a 2-4 year old. I wasn’t worried that she would be dependent on the iPhone or a tablet and it would harm her in any way it was more of a challenge to keep her focused on other beneficial ‘distractions’ such as books and casual conversation.
I think that all of us who are parents with toddlers go through the challenges of trying to limit tablets and smartphones as they can be dependent upon them if used too often. I also have a 3 yo son who loves my smartphone with downloaded learning games and videos but do now find that when taken away he wants something similar but then after 5 minutes he forgets about it. So I do agree there tends to be some sort of dependency on smart technology when introduced to younger kids as they are gaining social skills, learning how to speak and discerning between what is real and what is not on this planet.
