Children should get a smartphone at what age?

Children should get a smartphone at what age? People say that age is just a number! Well, is that the case with children and smartphones?

How smart are we when it comes to smartphones with kids?

The smartness of this age makes it demanding. We are to give a smartphone to a child at a very early age.

At what age should children get a smartphone? There are tributaries of problems associated with this question. Evidently, the concern reaches a peak point. Here parents develop anxiety over it. Medical experts give a lot of explanations. It answers all our worries. Let us examine the real problem in this article.

Do phones affect a person even in the later stage of life?

How does a phone control our lifestyle?

Do you screen the Screentime?

“Doctor my child is 2 years old but still she doesn’t speak a word!”

This is a serious concern for many parents. We need to pause and think before cross-examination. Therefore, we need assurance on hearing abilities or other details. Yes, it is the screen time!

Screen time is the time spent in front of phones, tabs, laptops, systems, or television.A child who spends most of the time in front of the screen won’t develop the ability to talk. In such cases, the child may not even utter a sound.

Focusing on the screen involves one-way communication. The child does not get a chance to respond and reciprocate. Assuredly communication skills would dropdown. It leads to serious problems in the future. This is a major concern in adults also. Studies show that the connection in the brain cells also gets interrupted.

According to the WHO and the American Academy of Pediatrics, children below 24 months should not be exposed to gadgets.

What is the Ideal Age?

Precisely, children should get a smartphone after 2 years of age.However, do not leave the child alone with the gadget. Also, remember to regulate the time span of usage. We also get easily attracted to the color, graphics, and light of our phones. Then what more could be said of its impact on children?

Always explain and wait for the child to respond to screen time. It should not focus only on the gadgets without any conversation.

Attention, Aggression and Anxiety!

The above three words are equally important to both children and adults. When a child is not given proper attention, it replaces its desire. They engross in the smartphone. Sometimes, children going to playschool have less attention span and do not show interest in listening to the instructions. Their mind floats like the animated images on the screen. Gradually children get a smartphone. Therefore, they cut themselves from the real world. Gradually they fall into a huge and slushy pit of lies.

Also read: You are important,care for yourself

Aggression

Some children of age 3-4 are aggressive in nature. They throw things and create tantrums for even small things.Don’t even dream of stopping the screen time abruptly from a child. This could lead to other problems. Children lack the understanding and maturity in logical reasoning skills. So use the techniques mentioned below to regulate the use of phones. At what age should children get a smartphone is a big question. But at what age a child should not be given a phone helps to resolve any issues.

Lack of attention and aggression causes anxiety problems in adults. Undoubtedly, People face such serious problems around us. Most of the problems take root in smartphones.This happens when you aren’t smart enough to make the right use of them. Often the child is seen to be engrossed in the phone without blinking.

The Great Impact

Children develop neck issues, back pain, and neurological disorders. Precisely, this is due to excess screentime. They may deteriorate in their studies. Thereafter, they also gain much weight. Besides, advertisements and persuasive content could urge them to purchase unhealthy products. Sleeping late in the night makes them drowsy in the morning. This is not a good sign of growth. The villain behind all the chaos is not the phone.It is the lack of decisiveness and choice.

Role of Parents in Addiction

Yes, parents do have a role in phone addiction. Before we examine the cure of something let us skim through the causes. How many of you feed a child by playing its favorite cartoon? The child remains silent and obedient as soon as you switch on the screen. In short, parents induce the habit at a very early age.

Anything that the child wants displays on the screen in vibrant forms.

The Impact of the Brain

Undoubtedly, excess use of gadgets has adverse effects on both children and adults. But this impact differs in both.

Electromagnetic radiation causes incurable thermal effects on the development of the brain. At times it could develop into tumors or even brain cancer. 10% of children go to bed without proper food and sleep. 38% of children become anxious. They are frustrated from childhood. Assuredly a mobile phone cannot be a man’s best friend. It need not be a good companion in loneliness.

The Five Senses

Learning through the five senses is essential in a child’s growth. Children shape by what they hear, see and feel. It is our responsibility to assure that they do it in the right way. No way! We cannot take children off from technology. Inevitably in this era children should get a smartphone. This is the digital era. All of us should enjoy the benefits of it as well. Lack of maturity leads people in the wrong direction.

The screen stimulates the pleasure parts of the brain or the reward mechanism. Let me explain it to you. Actors on the screen or the movement of the characters are presented extraordinarily. Children are unable to understand the line between media, projection, reality, and life. Therefore, the screen dominates life here. We too lose ourselves in the content over the internet.

Trap or a Net of advantages?

The maximum development of the brain takes place till the age of 7. Thereafter progress takes place between the ages of 12-13.

The spinal development impairs when they sit or lie down in front of the screen for a long time. High definition images or perfect audiovisual effects make the content appear repeatedly in our brain. Each of us is gifted with the abilities to make, repair, create, assemble, etc. All these effects threaten us. The child loses its ability to think and progress.

Additionally, we see children developing into zombies or digital machines. They are simply unable to respond.

Responsibility

A smartphone is a responsibility. However rich you are it has to be worth the money paid. Some adults and children presume that the whole world could be controlled with a smartphone. Smartphone becomes an addiction when you unconsciously surrender to it. So whose problem is it?

Yours!

Do not blame the stars or the technology or the world. Humans, love to be always within the comfort zone of food and ease. The same attitude applies to smartphones.

Priority and Choice

Your choice and priorities decide your dependence on an electronic gadget. Why do you want your phone to remember the important dates for you? Why do you want it to remind you of meetings?

Yes, we also want it to wake us up in the morning!

Using it wisely makes it a smartphone. Do not let it outsmart you!

Future of a Screen Child

The age span 5-13 is a crucial age for development and progression in children. They learn through observation, enquiring, exploration, and experimentation. Gradually, this inquisitive mind of a child wanes away. It doesn’t mean that 5-13 is the only age for development. Humans progress in their communication and interpersonal skills during this time. A screen child may develop regression and repression affecting their behavior. Mostly we can see cases of aversion. They seldom value relationships and feelings. Maybe a child is excellent with high scores in video games and programming skills. Eventually, they score poorly in life. Therefore, it is important to be active with the sense organs. Serious issues such as the inability to detect texture are seen in such people.

Proven ways to help the child in danger!

We need to resolve the privacy once we confront the root cause. It is essential to carefully deal with children addicted to phones. Moreover, parents have to be cautious before handing over a phone to a child. Definitely, prevention is better than cure.

Boredom :

Some parents go into guilt mode when their children say that they are bored. Immediately they rush to equip the child with something. Therefore, access to the screen is granted.

Evidently, it is our responsibility to keep them equipped. Respond to it in a different way. Acknowledge that they are bored. Encourage them to come up with different ideas to ward off boredom. Precisely, the child comes up with ways of creativity. And yes, on-screen time becomes productive. There you get the child!

Take then beyond digital platforms. Assuredly, they will come up with unique ideas to keep them occupied.

Firstly, make them think of alternatives in their condition of boredom.

Break the Time Pattern

Secondly, observe the time that the child is hooked hanging onto the screen. Some begin a day with it, some end the day with games. Therefore, note the exact time.

Undoubtedly, here you can try breaking the pattern or changing the pattern. A mom came to me recently and shared her success story on this tip. She took her son to the park or for a small walk with their dog during the screen time. You can also try something different at home. Ask your child to assist you in cleaning or cooking. Assuredly, skills in organizing and arrangement will develop.

Conclusion

It is mandatory for parents, mentors, and teachers to create awareness in children. Internet is not a trap. Never, it is a bad idea! In fact, we get lots of information connectivity and knowledge within. But it cannot give us wisdom!

Undoubtedly, wisdom comes when you use the knowledge. It helps you choose between right and wrong. Here is where you can play the most important role in a child’s life.

References

About Author

Rini Mathew

(@Rini Mathew)

Rini Rose Mathew is a Language Tutor by trade. Her interest in writing and voice modulation has taken form as creative documentaries. Her poems and articles find way in International Journals as source of experience and dedication to Language as an art. The belief that language is an approach and an amalgam of life finds credit in many of her published works.