Watching videos detrimental to development of babies, says study, doctors

After a couple of sessions with the psychiatrist, the boy’s parents learnt that their practise of distracting Jeevan with rhymes on the television, when he was a baby, had resulted in a delay in his development.  

“We found out about the delay only when he was three. A series of occupational therapy sessions followed and now he is responding to his name but he still has a long way to go before he starts communicating effectively,” said Priya K, a relative. “There is immense pressure on Jeevan from school to write and mingle with other kids,” she added.

With most parents working long hours, spending time with their babies is becoming a rarity. With little time to spare, when the babies start crying, the only go-to measure these parents have adopt is to either shove a phone or a tablet in front the baby or to switch on the television. 

While this distracts babies and provides a temporary solution to the parents, studies have found that it tends to slow down their development. 

As part of an ongoing study by professor Krupa M, professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Department at Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (SRMC), it was found that the amount of time that children under the age of two spend in front of a screen tends to affect their development. “During the course of the study, we found that most of the children spend a long time watching the television or phones. This influenced the quality of their play and communication skills even though they tend to lean a few words from it,” the professor said. Stating that many children – late talkers – are being brought to their clinic on a regular basis, Krupa added, “According to the American Paediatrics’ Association, children should not get exposed to gadgets until the age of two. Once they cross the mark, they should be allowed only 30 minutes of screen time a day.”

A report published in The Guardian stated that ‘studies warn that using a tablet or smartphone to divert a child’s attention could be detrimental to internal mechanisms of self-regulation. “These devices may replace the hands-on activities important for the development of sensorimotor and visual-motor skills, which are important for the learning and application of maths and science,” said Jenny Radesky, clinical instructor in developmental-behavioural paediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, who had conducted a study on it. 

Stressing upon the need to let children develop naturally, Joseph Sunny, director, Pebbles Child Development Centre in Arumbakkam, said, “Children develop speech and language skills by the time they are three and it is a crucial time for them to make eye contact.” 

“By the time they are three, they should ideally be able to speak three words at a stretch. Sensory inputs from outdoor play and interaction with people play a vital role in this period and gadgets disrupt this process,” said Sunny. 

A study presented at the 2017 Paediatric Academic Societies meeting, stated that 20 per cent of children spend an average of 28 minutes a day watching videos on a gadget. Every 30-minute increase in the daily screen time was linked to a 49 per cent increased risk of what the researchers call expressive speech delay. 

“When children are exposed to various gadgets, the fast-moving pictures on the screen tend to grab their complete attention, causing them to shut out all the other sounds and sights,” said Krupa. “It is more of a one-way communication, giving them no opportunity to talk or explore things. It causes children to get addicted to the gadgets,” she said.