It is no longer remarkable for a child as young as 18 months old to know how to operate a mobile electronic device. Dr Jennifer Kiing, clinical director of Singapore’s National University Hospital’s (NUH) Child Development Unit, says her colleague recently made this observation while doing hospital rounds.
“I think we can assume that the use of such mobile electronic devices is quite widespread in families,” she says.
Today’s interactive mobile devices, such as tablet computers, laptops and touchscreen smartphones, have made it very easy for children to tune in to the digital world and tune out of the real world, say experts like her.
Dr Kiing, a mother of three young children, is concerned at the ease with which a child may go from watching a movie to a show on the video-sharing website YouTube, then switch to a computer game and back to YouTube again on such devices.
“Given what we already know about heavy TV viewing and its adverse impact on the attention span of young children, I believe there is a likelihood that the heavy use of these new devices among young children may result in attention deficits in later life,” she says.
For the past 25 years, the American Academy of Paediatrics has expressed concern about the amount of time children and adolescents spend viewing television and the content of what they view.
The academy recommends that children under two years old should not watch any TV and that those older than two years watch no more than one to two hours a day of quality programming.
The first three years of life is considered a critical time for brain development, explains Dr Kiing.
Excessive use of television and other mobile electronic media such as computers can get in the way of a child’s exploring, playing and interacting with their peers and their parents.
As they get older, too much screen time may interfere with activities such as sports, reading, homework, playing with friends and spending time with family.
Mary Chua, 35, a housewife with two children aged 12 and 10, says: “I should not have allowed my children to use computers or portable devices when they were young.
“Now they spend at least two hours a day on them, chatting with friends and playing games, when I would rather they spend their time on school work. It’s very hard to break the habit.”
Although there are potential benefits for children to reap from viewing some TV shows, such as the promotion of positive aspects of social behaviours (for example, sharing, manners and co-operation), there are also many negative effects.
The number of hours of television watched daily from age one to three years is associated with increased attention problems at age seven, says Dr Kiing.
Children who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behaviour but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them, she adds.
Not all use of touchscreen tablet computers and smartphones or other similar devices is detrimental. As with TV viewing, it has to do with the age of exposure, intensity and nature of programmes a child is exposed to through these devices.
At the NUH Child Development Unit, Dr Kiing and her colleagues see many preschool children with a range of developmental and behavioural disorders ranging from attention deficits and autism spectrum disorder to common behavioural challenges. But the digital devices may have a role to play in assisting children with such communication impairments, she says.
A picture exchange communication system (PECS) app is readily available online and can be very helpful for some children who have difficulty using words to communicate. It is all a matter of balance.
Dr Daniel Fung, senior consultant at Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health’s department of child and adolescent psychiatry, says: “At any age, you would want to expose children to a whole variety of physical activities, social circles as well as electronic devices for them to develop to their best potential.”
But he says children should not be allowed to play all day on a computer. That would lead to other side effects such as short-sightedness.
“I would not use the device as a babysitting tool. But it is a big part of modern life now. It’s up to parents to moderate it so that the child’s other areas of development are not adversely affected,” says Dr Fung, who is a father of five.
The debate on how best to regulate television exposure is inconclusive. Child development experts are divided when it comes to solutions.
Dr Kiing says: “My concern is that once a child gets on a mobile electronic device, he often stays there for much longer than intended.”
For a start, she says parents may want to think of electronic devices as the equivalent of a TV set for their children rather than as toys.
All the recommendations about regulating TV viewing for young children should apply to tech gizmos.
“While we won’t know for some years about the effects of heavy or early iPad or iPhone use on our children, we should probably not wait till the research evidence is out before we start enforcing some simple rules to regulate their use,” she says.
Sound advice
Here are some guidelines that Dr Kiing uses on her own children:
- No TV, computer time under two years of age.
- After two years of age, children’s use of TV and computer should be judiciously permitted.
- For TV viewing, quality programmes are chosen.
These usually refer to educational programmes such as Sesame Street, which teaches children social and moral lessons and is not too fast-paced for a developing brain.
Dr Kiing says: “For example, we watch the Little Bear series by Maurice Sendak, where characters move and talk very slowly.”
- Sit with the child during TV/computer time so that you can help him contextualise what he sees and hears and make it meaningful.
- Do not use electronic devices as a babysitter.
It is better to put a young child in a playpen and have music playing (rather than have any exposure to visual imagery which is not monitored) if a parent or caregiver is busy.
Strategies may include:
- Timed access to the device, with either parent monitoring or having the device automatically time out.
- Limiting access to Internet websites.
- Limiting access to YouTube (which is really limiting TV access).
- Limiting the number and type of games available on the electronic device.
- Limiting use of devices to weekends.
- Regulating the use of the device on weekends and holidays. – The Straits Times, Singapore/ANN
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