Stop zombie children

ADenver dad says smartphones turned his two youngest sons into zombies. So he turned himself into a crusader.

Timothy Farnum, an anesthesiologist, wants Colorado to be the first state to ban smartphone sales to children younger than 13, and he already has plenty of parents on board. The behavior of his boys, ages 10 and 11, underwent striking changes when they got phones.

They became withdrawn, distracted, disinterested in playing outdoors.

Parents face an everyday challenge in trying to sort out the rapid-fire changes mobile technology is making in American life. How much is too much? Does early mastery of technology give kids a competitive edge later on? If electronic content is labeled “educational,” does it help or hinder?

All valid questions, all slowly being sorted out by pediatric experts. Their short answer: Media are inescapable for children growing up today, and it’s up to parents to be careful and vigilant regulators.

A study presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting found a direct correlation between handheld electronic media exposure and delayed speech in very young children.

Being a parent is no easy business; runaway technology often rockets beyond the research. But the research in this area is emerging with a consistent message: Too much mobile media exposure is a problem for our kids. Farnum reports that once he pried the smartphones away from his boys, they reconnected with such basic childhood pleasures as playing outdoors and reading.

Those are experiences all children need. It’s up to us to make sure they get them.