Why exactly is too much screen time not good for kids?
Well, for three simple reasons.
One, your child learns best from the real world. She learns best by exercising through crawling or walking around, and by seeing what happens when she shakes the table a little too hard. She learns best by smiling at you and others around her, and listening in to conversation. She learns best through play. And she learns intangible but valuable skills like eye contact, taking turns, reading facial expressions, and paying attention to another person.
Two, children who are not constantly thinking about the iPad or the iPhone are more present. They do not “work for”something. Their goal is their play. Kids who have been gradually introduced to the iPad and the iPhone, however, work for games or videos. And everything around them – no matter how colorful or interesting – fades in comparison. It’s a cycle. The more they use the iPad or the iPhone to stay entertained, the more they will need it to stay entertained. Experts say that technology may be reducing attention spans.
And three, there are so many other things that your child could do besides
staring at a screen. Try some of these the next time your little one is bored.
1. Coloring
You can carry a book and some crayons in your baby’s bag, and pull them out when there is some wait time. Ask them to draw you a picture. Watch their creativity – and their fine motor skills – soar.
2. Play Doh
Same as above. Try those little travel size tins they have started to sell at most toy shops. And, if you would like, carry only one or two at a time so your child does not make a mess. Again, you’ll be working on creativity. But play-doh is also soothing, and provides sensory input for children seeking touch /tactile simulation. So you’ll also be doing a lot of work to calm your child.
3. Reading
When you don’t have that much to do, reading a storybook seems like a lot of fun.
If a book is your child’s only entertainment, complaining about reading will decrease.
4. Playing with their own toys
Pretend play is not just something cute to watch. It’s actually an extremely important milestone in play and language development. If your child is going to have free time, make sure to take along a plushie or a doll. It takes creativity to come up with a play scheme and routine. Given enough time, your child will surprise you with all the things he comes up with. He will learn to enact routines on his superheroes. He will learn how to sequence steps. And he will learn how to make stories, or enact stories that he read in his latest book.
5. People watching
There is a part of language called “social language.” It is an extremely important part of language development. Does your child greet others? Does she make eye contact, and maintain it? Does she take turns? Does she notice and react to people around her?
Starting from age 5-6, your child will also be able to notice the emotions of others, and reason out why others are feeling the way they are feeling. This is a complex process, based on a phenomenon known as theory of mind. But you can help your child along the process by pointing out other children.
“How is that baby feeling? He’s crying. He’s feeling sad. Why do you think he is feeling sad?”
Doing this will help your child tune in to other people’s emotions. It will help your child develop empathy. And it will help them develop crucial social skills to succeed in the classroom and on the playground.
6. Playing with your child
Take advantage of a wait to help your child build social skills. Simple play – no matter what your child is playing – will develop social language.
So there you have it. Simple alternatives to screen time. It might be a little work to plan these activities. But the benefit to your child’s language and communication development – and therefore to their cognition and learning foundations – is immense.
Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.
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