How Tablets And Mobiles Affect Children Under 2 Years

Children’s use of electronic devices has been much discussed from different points of view. In this article, we will specifically discuss how tablets and mobiles affect children under the age of two in terms of health and social interaction.

Those who warn of possible health risks often point to correlations with serious conditions, such as tumors and cancer. However, it is also a valid point to point out that so far there are no decisive research results that indicate that this is the case.

In any case, one can never be too careful, especially if one considers that this actually has a basis in research.

It has been said that unlimited use of electronic devices, including tablets and mobile phones, contributes to physical inactivity.  A sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading causes of obesity in the world. Obesity has undeniably increased, especially among children and adolescents around the world.

From a social perspective, criticism has been leveled at the fact that excessive use of these units leads to a lack of socialization. Some children simply prefer to “interact” with phones instead of other children.

Tablets and mobiles can take time away from important activities

Regardless of whether the research that advises against the use of electronic devices is valid or not, it must be borne in mind that young children under the age of two (as well as older children) must explore their environment in order to develop. They must have the chance to move – to crawl, walk, climb, jump, roll, dance, run… They can not do that with a tablet while sitting on a sofa.

Young children need to move

The development of children’s brains (neurodevelopment) begins in the womb, but it does not end there but continues until four or five years after birth. That is, children’s brain structures during this period are still being formed and forming synapses (connections between nerve cells).

From experience and out of necessity, the body responds to the demands of its environment. So how can watching videos on mom’s cell phone help neurological development?

Children need to get to know their body. They must learn to control it from experience, even if this destroys the house and sounds a lot.

Young children must be allowed to experiment with their senses

The neurological development also means that the nervous system learns how to process information. Children do this by using their five senses and using the information to learn.

It is also important that they can interpret vestibular stimuli (balance and movement) and proprioception (emotions that come from the body).

All this a child achieves by playing, exploring new textures and temperatures, playing musical instruments, going to the park, swinging, singing and getting really dirty… Not by playing the latest popular game on a tablet or mobile.

Infants must develop their communication skills

Knowing how to communicate is not just learned by looking at pictures on a tablet and naming them. To know how to communicate is to be able to let someone know what you mean and to be able to understand what others are saying to you and what is happening around you. A vocabulary is important to acquire, but it is not the same as communicating.

Children learn to communicate by interacting with people, not machines. They learn by listening to people around them – when they talk to their mother, play with siblings and cousins, go to preschool, solve problems, sing and listen to fairy tales.

Communication helps them develop social skills that children need to grow up and be able to respect the opinions of others. They must learn to wait their turn when they play, know when to listen, when they make eye contact, when it’s their turn to talk, and wait when others talk.

None of this they can learn from a telephone.

Infants need to develop basic skills

Basic skills are concepts that you learn through experience.  It is about spatial concepts, (up, down, near, far, front, behind, inside, outside) and time concepts (before, after, first, second, fast, slow, during).

Other concepts such as weight, similarity and distance are also included. Of course, there are games for electronic devices that deal with these concepts, but they can not teach children what is “up” or which toy is heavier than another, for example.

Electronic games can only represent what the user already knows through experience so that the child can choose the right answer.

How tablets and mobile phones affect children

Even with all this said, we want to point out that it is not as bad as you might think. Mobile phones and tablets will not cause any irreversible harm to your children, as long as they do not replace the real life experience. That is, do not spend time showing them games on these devices, but instead invest that time and effort in playing with them outdoors if possible, or with their toys.

This is how you develop your child’s intelligence, even if social pressure sometimes makes us believe otherwise.

Maybe use tablets or mobiles when the situation really does not allow you to have toys on hand. And then choose educational games that can actually teach your children something.