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While handling digital devices such as iPads, tablets, and phones may offer temporary relief to busy parents, child development experts warn that children who use these devices at an early age could experience delays in learning how to speak and interact with other people.
The specialists explained that these devices often reduced opportunities for physical play, emphasising that physical play was crucial for developing a child’s motor functions, which include reading, writing, and speech development.
They also stated that writing involved hand-eye coordination and muscle control that could be hindered if children spend too much time interacting with touch screens, where gestures are often simple swipes or taps instead of more complex hand movements.
The physicians insisted that young children learn how to speak and refine their vocabulary through face-to-face interactions and verbal play, which may be limited when they are absorbed in a device.
To ensure that children reduce their screen time and engage in physical activity for healthy growth and well-being, the World Health Organisation and the American Academy of Paediatrics issued guidelines that recommended limiting screen time for children.
Defining screen time as the amount of time that individuals spend watching television, playing video games, and using mobile phones and tablets, among other electronic devices, the WHO’s guidelines discouraged the use of these devices by infants under one year.
“Screen time is not recommended for infants less than one year but engaging in reading and storytelling with a caregiver is encouraged when sedentary. For one-year-olds, sedentary screen time, such as watching television or videos or playing computer games, is not recommended.
“Infants less than one year should be physically active several times a day in a variety of ways, particularly through interactive floor-based play. For those not yet mobile, at least 30 minutes on the floor (tummy time) while awake is recommended.”
“Also, for infants less than one year of age, screen time is not recommended. No screen time for a one-year-old and no more than an hour for two-year-olds, with less time preferred. Three to four years old: No more than one hour,” the WHO’s guidelines stated.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise in different interviews, the physicians said reading skills could also suffer, as screen time reduced attention span, making it harder for children to focus on printed material and develop essential reading habits.
They asserted that in the early stages of life, physical and social engagement was essential for balanced cognitive and motor development.
A Neurologist and Chairman of the International Institutes of Advanced Research and Training Centre at Chidicon Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, Professor Philip Njemanze, said in the early developmental stages, gadgets were not useful; rather, colourful toys were appropriate for dexterity and coordination.
Njemanze, a former Principal investigator of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration for the study of the ‘Brain in Space,’ said the development of the sensorimotor area of the brain (the region that controls how the brain responds to external stimuli) begins earlier in life.
He said, “Crucial to this development is dexterity; that is the use of hands. Emphasis is on eye-hand coordination, sensory and proprioception, or touch.”
Njemanze noted that these functions, along with the development of vision and colour centres in the brain, were key to the overall functional development of the audiovisual system.
“These must be in place before language, which will come in later. In these early developmental stages, gadgets are not useful; rather, colourful toys are more appropriate for dexterity and coordination.
“On the contrary, gadgets, especially those that may evoke bright light flashes on the screen may cause activation of epileptogenic sites, triggering convulsions,” he said.
“It is, therefore, advisable to keep young kids off these gadgets at early ages in order not to adversely impact their motor development,” he added.
Previous studies published in JAMA Paediatrics, a journal within the Journal of the American Medical Association network that focuses on paediatric medicine, have reported an association between screen time and various child development outcomes.
These include communication skills, daily living skills, socialisation, gross and fine motor skills, problem-solving abilities, personal and social development, cognitive development, socio-emotional development, language development, and behavioural problems among others.
Corroborating his submission, a Consultant Paediatrician at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Dr Stanley Onah, cautioned that giving babies a phone or tablet to play with might seem like a harmless solution when parents were busy, but it could affect their development.
He warned that one to four hours of screen time per day for one-year-old children was linked with higher risks of developmental delays in communication, fine motor, problem-solving and personal and social skills by the age of two.
