I have recently walked into too many family functions and seen all of my younger cousins glued to their parent’s phones or their iPads. They won’t even play with the other children around them! Who else is tired of watching their little cousins and siblings become iPad kids?!
But what long-term effects could this pose on children? When should it be appropriate for parents to introduce this technology to their children? After deep research, it’s evident that parents should wait until their children reach the age of 10 before supplying their children with personal devices like iPads and/or tablets because of the harmful effects they can have on a child’s early development process.
For clarity, the 4 stages of development are as follows:
- The sensorimotor stage (birth – 2 years old)
- The preoperational stage (2-7 years old)
- The concrete operational stage (7-11 years old)
- The formal operational stage (12 years old to adulthood)
Sensorimotor Stage
In this stage, the child’s cognitive development is just beginning to form. In which they are learning their senses by exploring their environment. Therefore, the more they explore, the more they will be able to discover.
So stuffing a two-year-old’s face with YouTube videos is only going to prevent them from being able to establish their senses, and it will hinder their ability to understand things through the crucial process of trial and error learning. It is momentous to let babies explore and understand the mysterious world around them.
Preoperational Stage
The Preoperational Stage is the most important stage for language development as children begin using proper words and pictures to represent objects. Kids in this stage also become more in tune with their imagination and express this through pretend play, allowing them to think symbolically.
Based on this information alone, some people may think it could be appropriate for a child within this age range to be able to obtain electronics to aid with language development through educational videos and games.
Although it has been proven that educational videos and games can increase literacy in children, in this age range children are very clingy and will easily become attached to anything they find entertaining or beneficial to themselves. It is way too dangerous to introduce these devices because of how addictive technology is to young children due to its convenience and attractiveness.
As with any addiction, these children will begin to adopt very poor behavior. According to NIH, excessive use of screen time can lead to problems in social-emotional development including obesity, sleep disturbances, depression, and anxiety. It can impair emotional comprehension, promote aggressive behavior, and hinder social and emotional competence.
These are all issues that are likely to occur in a child who engages in constant use of technology; most of the possibilities are extremely difficult to resolve and can be deadly in some cases. It’s far better to wait for the child to mature to understand the importance of “things in moderation.”
Concrete Operational Stage
In this stage, children will experience the beginning of logic in their thought process and the beginning of the classification of objects by their similarities and differences. So they begin to develop more complex thinking skills like cause and effect and problem-solving.
It is most appropriate to introduce electronic devices in this stage, as kids are less clueless about the world around them, for the most part. At the age of 10, most of their important psychological development has formed. With the use of their newfound logic and understanding, they are less likely to become addicted to these devices.
Around this age, children may also be a part of clubs, sports teams, and friendships, so they shouldn’t be completely consumed by their devices. It is also helpful to introduce these devices around this age, and not too late into their teen or adult years, so they can become familiar with technology as it plays a huge role in today’s society.
Other Time-Consuming Activities
Instead of relying on electronic devices to occupy children, parents should find other ways to keep their children active and occupied through creative activities like arts, crafts, Legos, and other fun hobbies until they reach the appropriate age.
Conclusion
It may seem easier for parents to give their young children electronics to keep them busy, but not many of them actually consider the effects that technology can have on their young children.
It’s not rational to completely remove this component from children’s lives, but the timing at which you introduce these devices is very crucial to a child’s development.
Students, when we find ourselves babysitting or in charge of younger kids, help end this iPad kid epidemic by introducing them to better ways to occupy themselves in order to preserve the minds and brains of young children.
