Connected parents, hooked children? Digital natives

Where do you have your cell phone right now? By hand, right? This small device came to revolutionize our world, so small that it seems harmless, but... We all know the dependence that as adults we have on these devices, in most cases it is much higher than we would like, even a few years ago There was the challenge of “the first one to pick up the phone pays for the round.”

Digital devices have been a part of our lives for several years now, and our use of them is becoming increasingly unavoidable. We cannot deny that we live in a completely digital age where limiting their use is difficult , both for adults and children, since we ourselves are "hooked" on digital technology most of the time. In recent years, we have witnessed a huge explosion in these devices—mobile phones, tablets, and so on. With easy access for everyone and a wide range of applications, including "educational" ones, the amount of time spent in front of these screens is constantly increasing, regardless of age.

It's very likely that you've all relied on that moment of peace we get when our little ones sit and watch cartoons while we make dinner or finish sending that email we should have sent hours ago. We're not here to judge anyone; we just need tricks to give us a break sometimes.

But today we are here to reflect on the importance of using mobile devices at an early age, how accessible they are on a daily basis for our children, etc.

Some families at Happy Way tell us, laughing, "The first 'meaningful' word she said was 'Alexa!'" "Getting her to eat on her own is impossible, but hey, when she doesn't like a YouTube song, she changes it without any problem!" Beyond the anecdotal and funny aspects—which are undeniable—it 's important that we at school discuss this topic with families, understanding the family's need for occasional use, but making it clear to parents how harmful it can be at this stage. Therefore, it should always be supervised and limited in time, and of course, if possible, all the better!

How does use affect them in the first three years of life?

The first thing we have to take into account is the importance of brain, cognitive and emotional development in the first three years of life.

Based on studies carried out by the American Academy of Pediatrics, it advises against its use in children under two years of age for the following reasons:

• Affects language development. One of the fundamental components for its development is interaction (we will talk at another time about the importance of this component). What type of interaction do children have with screens?
• It does not encourage free, unstructured creative play, which is very important for cognitive development. If we do not let the child discover his environment, get bored, remain free of stimuli, he will not know how to develop his imagination.
• The small child does not understand what is seen on a screen in the same way as a real game. You already know how important it is for a child that their learning processes are experiential, it is necessary that it be experiential.
• While the child is on the cell phone, family interaction is lost. Parents take the opportunity to be busy with other things, removing the parent-child interaction that is so important. In this case, I know that not all families use the cell phone to leave the child hooked to it while they continue their lives, but it is true that the more time they spend in front of the TV, tablet or phone, they are losing very valuable moments to interact. with them.
• They encourage sedentary activity, creating hobbies that hardly require movement. Correct! We are facing a generation plagued by activities that hardly require energy consumption, video games, tablets, telephones... and to which, we also add, the poor diet that since childhood they are encouraged to have through advertisements... sugary soft drinks, pastries, fast food …
• On the other hand, the visual development of children at an early age is not yet prepared to spend a long time looking at the screen with this type of constant stimuli. For some years now, ophthalmologists in our country have been warning us that “children between 7 and 12 years old have half a diopter more myopia than university students from a generation ago” (according to an article published by rtve.es).

But, there are applications and content that is educational, how can it affect them?

This is one of the main mistakes we all make. There are many applications and videos on the internet with which we think that our children are having an educational moment, but we are wrong, especially if our children are between 0 and 3 years old.

When we put our children in front of a tablet with a video that we think is "teaching them to speak," all we're really achieving is that they can repeat words they find in the song or story they're listening to. But a very important aspect is missing, one I've already mentioned: interaction . Your child may be learning how to pronounce certain words, but the communication is one-way.

To get an educational part out of the application, we must spend some time choosing the application that fits their needs and age, and another moment to be able to use that application, interacting with our child at all times.

We must understand the use of these electronic devices within the family unit and the importance they gain in critical moments, but let us not forget how this type of stimuli makes our little ones turn off, becoming hooked on empty stimuli. Or how during feeding times the use of these tricks can be a long-term disadvantage (we'll talk about this later). Without taking into account the direct impact that the use of electronic devices has on children's waiting times, children become much more demanding and have little patience.

Important! In this post we want to reflect on its use at an early age, but be careful, it is very necessary that our little ones, as they grow, educate them in their use and provide them with the necessary tools to make good use of devices, the Internet, networks. social... And you, are you thinking about reducing consumption or have you never needed it? We read you.