How tablets are damaging our children’s health
Technology devices can cause communication problems, less sleep and myopia
THE adverse effects of spending too much time in f ront of a screen have been well-documented for adults, but the phenomenon also poses huge health risks for our children.
Earlier this year, researchers from the University of Toronto and The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto found that every 30 minutes of screen time increased the risk of delayed speech by 49 per cent.
And with recent figures from British market research firm Childwise showing that a third of under-fives now have their own tablet, the devices are more popular than ever. Unfortunately this means and more children are now being exposed to potential health defects such as communication and sleep problems and even short-sightedness.
It’s a problem experienced by couple Rachel and Simon Davenport, who purchased tablet computers for their four year old, Conor, and 18-month-old sibling Charlie.
‘I try to restrict Conor’s use to a couple of hours a day,’ says Rachel. ‘But when I tell him to come off, he refuses, answering back to everything I say.’
Worryingly, Rachel fears that Conor’s tablet use may not only be affecting him mentally and emotionally, but physically, too.
Now five and in senior infants, Conor is struggling with writing despite having the reading age of a six-year-old.
Teachers have told them that Conor’s fine motor skills are under-developed.
Staff have been encouraging him to do exercises to strengthen muscles that help him hold a pencil. These include playing with stickers and moulding playdough, pastimes which were enjoyed by previous generations without question.
‘The pincer grip required to hold a pencil uses muscles that don’t come into play when swiping or tapping a screen, but do with more dextrous activities,’ says Sally Blythe, a psychologist specialising in children’s physical development.
‘The eye-hand coordination that writing requires is different from using a screen. You have to be able to hold a pen and move from left to right.’ For those who believe typing could soon replace writing, Ms Blythe issues a word of warning. A kinaesthetic approach to learning — mastering something through engaging muscles — is far more effective at lodging the skill in the brain. ‘If you write a list rather than typing it, you’re more likely to remember it,’ she says. Conor’s teachers have asked his parents to entice him to do things that require dexterity, such as old-fashioned pursuits such as playing with bricks and toy cars. ‘When Conor went into junior infants he’d come home upset and say, “I can’t write. I don’t know how to hold the pencil”,’ recalls Rachel. ‘When the teachers talked about the sorts of activities he needed to do, I realised he was more interested in screens than this sort of play. ‘He has improved, which is good. He didn’t like not being capable of something most of his classmates could do.’ But Rachel also worries that Conor’s fascination with screens may be affecting his eyesight. ‘He asks for books to be brought closer when we read,’ she says. ‘There are about five children in his class who wear glasses. I don’t remember there being such a high prop orti on when I was that age .’
If Conor does need glasses, it wouldn’t be a great surprise. Opticians in Ireland are reporting a rise in young children being prescribed glasses for short-sightedness.
While most diagnoses of myopia used to happen around puberty, rising numbers need glasses at younger ages. This has been put down to the time youngsters now spend staring at screens.
‘ Children from better socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be affected as they have more access to gadgets,’ says Joanne Hancox, a consultant in paediatrics.
‘It’s also much more common in cities. One theory is that children who play outside are less likely to have myopia. Outside you have more cause to look into the distance, whereas indoors, you are more likely to be doing close-up activities.’
The worry is that if the eyes do a lot of close-up work while they are developing, they interpret near-sightedness as the norm and become less efficient at looking into the distance.
Statistically, the earlier you are diagnosed with myopia, the more short-sighted you are likely to become.
Kirsty Meredith, 42, fears the deterioration in her nine-year-old son Conwy’s vision is down to time spent on his iPad, which he’s had since he was six.
Kirsty, who works in sales for a photographic firm, took him for an eye test when he started getting headaches. The optician diagnosed short-sightedness.
‘He said it could be down to Conwy’s use of tablets and advised restricting screen time,’ says Kirsty. ‘It’s not easy. The moment he wakes up, he’s asking for it.’ Kirsty also fears that the iPad may have affected Conwy’s handwriting, which is still very messy. ‘He doesn’t seem to want to put the effort in to form neat letters,’ she says. ‘ He complains that his hand hurts.’ While Kirsty and Conwy’s dad, John, are aware of the need to do more physical activities, such as riding his bike, they dread the confrontations. ‘Even when I hide it, as soon as I’m dist r acted he’ll switch on the computer or PlayStation.’ Dr Richard House, a chartered psychologist and former early years teacher, says this response i s rooted in addiction. ‘When humans are deprived of something, there are always withdrawal symptoms. Young children express this distress through their behaviour,’ says Dr House. ‘When I was a kindergarten teacher, when a child had been watching TV or playing computer games before coming into school their behaviour was more chaotic and antisocial.’
CLAIRE Parrott, 36, has first-hand experience of screen-induced tantrums courtesy of her five-yearold daughter, Tess.
‘ When I ban the i Pad as a punishment, she eventually wears me down, constantly begging. To be honest, there are times when I need to send emails or think clearly. The tablet is a useful way to keep her occupied.’
One compromise Claire made was to buy Tess a Kindle so she could still get a screen fix, but through reading. But she took little interest and continued to plead for the iPad. Olivia is l ess obsessed with screens and is happy drawing — a fact Claire puts down to her having reached the ripe old age of three, not one, like Tess, when Claire bought an iPad.
Another study by University College London found that screen time can also impact the sleep of infants.
The British study found that every hour infants spent on such devices was linked to a 16 minutes less sleep. Sleep is an important component for brain development.
‘She cannot properly switch off,’ says Claire. ‘ On the occasions when I have hidden the iPad for a couple of days she’s calmer. But I don’t want to ban it altogether. I wouldn’t want my daughters to be less proficient than everyone else.’
However, Dr House dismisses this concern. ‘ There is evidence that children who are exposed to technology after developing other skills quickly become just as able, if not more, as their brains are more sophisticated.’