Phones, which have become an indispensable part of our lives with the developing world, pose a risk for both adults and children. Too much viewing of digital screens by young children affects their physical health and social psychology. It can cause bigger problems in the future. Children between the ages of 0 and 2 are particularly at risk. The most common mistake families make is giving digital screen devices such as phones and tablets to children who cry and insist on not eating. Excessive exposure to digital screens at a young age can cause many problems, from mental retardation to attention deficit.
PHONES SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN TO THEIR HANDS WHILE EATING
Psychologist Gizem Emre talked about the most common mistakes parents make in this regard. Emre said that the brain development of children between the ages of 0-2 is very important and that if children are given a phone at an early age, they experience significant problems in their development. Saying that children should be kept away from phones and electronic devices as much as possible, psychologist Emre said that children should not be given a phone while feeding them, that if they do, they will have communication problems in the future and they will stay in the background in the academic field.
DIGITAL SCREENS MUST BE DISPLAYED IN A CONTROLLED MANNER
Talking about the negative effects of technology on children, psychologist Gizem Emre said, “We live in the age of technology. Of course, it is not easy to keep our children away from phones, tablets and television. However, parents need to be with the children and provide control. Brain development continues between the ages of 0-2, which we call early childhood. In order to support this development of our children, we need to keep them away from electronic devices. We can set up and play games with our children. Everything around us is electronic and our children can be distracted, but we as parents need to take control of it. The less the child is exposed to the screen, the more environmentally oriented he will be, the more he will realize and experience many things in real life. In this way, it will contribute to the brain development of the child. That’s why we should keep our children away from bright screens in the 0-2 period, which we call the critical age, and in the future.”
PHONE TIME SHOULD SLOWLY REDUCE
Explaining that parents hold on to the phone as a solution when children do not eat, Gizem Emre said, “Sometimes the children do not eat and the parents are unsure of what to do and give the phone to them. Meanwhile, while the child is staring at the screen, the parents are trying to get them to eat, too. This is not what we want. At this stage, when we take the phone from the child’s hand, he starts to cry, he wants the phone and it turns into a habit. Since the mother and father do not know what to do, he hands the phone back to the child so that the child does not cry. Of course, the screen and the visual attract the attention of the child, but this time he closes himself to the outside world. The child who eats does not know what he is eating, he cannot taste it. Therefore, parents should find alternative ways. Parents who get the child used to the phone should gradually reduce its time. When the phone time given to the child gradually decreases, the child will not pick up the phone again. The child does not know what he is eating while the phone is in his hand, does not pay attention to his surroundings and He turns himself off and focuses on the phone. This is not what we want, we want the child to focus and communicate as much as possible,” he said.
QUESTIONING STATEMENTS SHOULD BE AVOIDED
Stating that there may be problems not only for children aged 0-2, but also for other age groups, Gizem Emre said, “When we look at it, we see a phone in every child’s hand, and as parents, this situation can get out of our control. As a parent, we must be there for our child. It’s not like you’re checking or questioning our child, but trying to understand what he is doing with curious eyes, ‘What are you doing, what are you looking at? You should be with the child by asking questions such as ‘How well do you play’. It is necessary to stand next to the child as a control mechanism. Of course, we can inform the child about this by using the internet more efficiently.
SENSITIZATION TO THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND SELF-CONTRACTING ARE SEEN IN THE EFFECTS OF SCREEN ADDICTION
If our child has been exposed to the screen for years for a long time, or if we turn on the TV while eating, or if we hold a phone in his hand, this will of course have negative feedback. Of course, every child is special and has different characteristics from each other, but it leads to insensitivity to the social environment, shutting himself down, not communicating, and most importantly, not knowing how to play and make friends with his friends in the neighborhood. This will affect the child’s education and academic success in the future. In this case, the child will be able to focus less on his lessons. Yes, the child focuses on the screen, but this happens because it is colorful. When this returns to real life, it can cause problems focusing on writing and focusing on speaking while listening to the teacher. This is where a cognitive process comes into play. When we are exposed to the screen, we throw this cognitive process into the background. Therefore, this process will greatly affect the academic success of our child.”