5 reasons why toddlers and young children shouldn't be given mobile phones

Millennial kids have been born at a time when technology has almost encapsulated their entire lives. With technology growing rampantly across the world, there are digital things for everyone – from babies and toddlers on up. Young children learn from the environment that they are born and bred in and when they see other adults and kids so engaged in using something, they are automatically tempted towards that thing. The tablets and apps that are made for kids to use are truly amazing, and there are lots of benefits in terms of learning opportunities and cognitive development… but there are also possible dangers when they are used excessively.

I will take you through a tour of 5 reasons why you shouldn't give mobile phones to toddlers:

Addiction Mobile phones are so addictive that young kids can easily get hooked on using them. If we, as adults, overlook the possible damages of excessive mobile phone usage, then toddlers certainly won’t recognise when it’s ‘time to take a break’ at their tiny ages. Addiction means that your little munchkin will crave a mobile phone all the time. With YouTube making cartoons so easily accessible 24/7, little ones will want to use the phone over and over again. As a concerned parent, you can visit mspy to learn about parental control for safe search over the web by your kids. Sleep Deprivation This is a very serious issue with the excessive use of a mobile phone. Millennials are at the receiving end of all the possible damages of technology. Most young kids are so attached to technology that they simply can’t switch off in favour of a good night’s sleep – there are always more cartoons to watch. In the early ’90s and ’80s when colour TV sets became prevalent in every household, parents would allow a few hours for cartoons. Now with technology in our hands, it has become easy to browse as much as we can. Sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous for the tiny brains that are in the developmental process.

Chances of mental illness are high

Getting attached to their favourite cartoon series is very easy. Moreover, many cases of cyberbullying are on the rise these days. Whilst your toddler is going to be safe for a while yet, access to a phone as they grow older makes this risk all the greater. And young children can easily get affected by getting bullied online, leading in many cases to low self-esteem, depression and self-harming. In addition, there are thousands of hyper-sexualized images online that can create troubling associations and worrying expectations for a young child. Therefore it is important to keep an eye on your little one and what they are accessing on your device.

Obesity

This is another rampantly growing epidemic across the world. A few years ago, kids would go out to play every day, but now they have a habit of staying at home. With so many games online, kids get easily trapped in their handy gadgets. The little body is supposed to move and have fun – it needs to move, to run, climb trees and play to develop properly. However, when kids choose to stay at home and play on devices, then they are much more likely to become obese which in turn makes it much more likely that they will become obese as adults.

Social cohesion is cut off

This is the biggest drawback of electronic gadgets in the modern day and age. People are choosing to spend more time on their phones and less time with their family and friends. With so much emphasis on online communication, most people are forgetting the art of socialising in real life – and our children aren’t even learning these skills properly in the first place. They don’t see their grown ups doing it so much, and they don’t get the chance to practice themselves as much. They become uncomfortable meeting new people, which leads, as they grow older, to anxiety about the very social events that could bring them so much joy. Children are too young to understand the dangers of the tech world themselves. Therefore it is the foremost responsibility of the parents and elders to make sure that their device usage is being monitored and limited to a safe level. Screens will always be there in the future but, right now, when they’re young, it is much better to encourage them to spend their time in activities that benefit them physically and mentally.