For decades, parents have been plopping their kids in front of screens in order to distract and entertain them for a few hours instead of having to actively watch them. This has been the case for every generation of children since the 1960s, and the only thing that’s changed is the fact that, instead of plopping their kids in front of screens (televisions), parents are now putting the screens in front of their kids (smartphones and tablets). We all know that it’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but one child psychologist has suggested that it’s actually akin to child abuse.
A LEADING child psychologist has claimed giving very young kids an iPad to play with is tantamount to child abuse. Dr Richard House asserts the rise in use of technology is bad for very young kids and could be compared to “playing Russian roulette with their development”. He told Nursery World magazine electronic images on a screen lead to “an indirect and distorted experience of the world”. He added: “To confuse children when they have hardly begun to get a handle on this world, by introducing them to virtual, techno-magical worlds, is surely an absurd reversal of the natural order of things. “‘If this is the case with adults, how much more is it relevant to young children whose brains are still at very early stages of development. “‘It seems that the arrogance of modern technology (together with ruthless commercialism) knows no bounds. On the basis of what I’ve argued here, giving iPads to babies is tantamount to child abuse. “It’s akin to playing Russian roulette with children’s development.”
