Excessive Screen Time Leads to Developmental Delays in Children

Not just poorly developed socials skills. Poor motor skills. Poor Language Skills.Poor emotional development. Can't think (reason or problem solve) Humans need to interact with actual living breathing humans. And the environment.In my opinion the human condition is already dire. I  see the children that can’t communicate. That don’t make eye contactThat are staring at their parent’s smart phones-  Or the parent's staring at their smart phones and not interacting with their children. It’s unbelievably unhealthy.Sad, sad, sad CTV

The study, released earlier this week tracked 2,500 young children in the Calgary area between 2011 and 2016, with families reporting on the number of hours their children spent in front of a screen.The study was in part an attempt to discover the causes of developmental gaps that have been found in Canadian schools, with past studies finding that one in four Canadian children are starting school inadequately prepared for learning. Because child development occurs rapidly in the first five years of life, this increased screen time at an early age can end up affecting the development of children, according to Dr. Sherri Madigan, the study’s lead author.Looking at the lasting impacts of screen time, the study also found an association between excessive screen time and a negative effect on the physical, behavioural, and cognitive development of children.Researchers tested children involved in the study, and found they were failing to meet developmental milestones in language and communication, problem-solving, and fine and gross motor skills. Not only are they spending less time developing the motor skills they need to learn to run, ride a bike, or throw a ball, but equally crucial socialization development is being missed when they stare at a screen rather than talking and interacting with their caregivers.“What the study shows is that when kids are watching screen time, they're actually not getting opportunities to practice those really important developmental skills,” Madigan told CTV Calgary.For parents who may have already fallen into the pitfall of overreliance on screen time, there’s no reason to despair.Madigan says that because children’s brains are constantly developing over the course of childhood and beyond, there’s still time to take steps in the right direction.

Linking over to Greg Bacon's blog where he'd previously posted an infant obviously addicted to the 'smart phone'.There was nothing funny to behold in the video.Video of infant  response - scroll down.Also:

The Power Of Delaying Gratification

  Children who were best able to delay gratification subsequently did better in school and had fewer behavioral problems than the children who could only resist eating the cookie for a few minutes—and, further, ended up on average with SAT scores that were 210 points higher. As adults, the high-delay children completed college at higher rates than the other children and then went on to earn higher incomes. In contrast, the children who had the most trouble delaying gratification had higher rates of incarceration as adults and were more likely to struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.

Being able to control one's self and not have a bunch of "monkey's on our back" make us all more free.  It really is that simple and that obvious.  We are less free when addicted to drugs, alcohol and smart devices. Why would or should any of us burden our children with one onerous monkey so early in life? Addicting children to instant gratification devices, impeding their development in so many ways is abusing your own child- sorry. Just calling it as I see it. Learning to delay gratification helps in that regard. Please think about the long term pain being caused.    

Smartphone use and smartphone addiction in middle school students


    Specifically, adolescents are a high risk group for smartphone addiction. Adolescents are strongly attached to their smartphone, and they regard a smartphone as their second self. Many smartphone users have reported that they would not be able to live without a smartphone (Wajcman et al., 2007)

 Not able to live without a smartphone- that's addiction talking.