This question requires us to determine, why some children are being exposed to considerable smartphone screentime per day and whether this is a good or bad development. To answer this query, firstly the reasons for for some children being overexposed to smartphones will be outlined.
In recent times, the number of working parents have increased and, nowadays, it is common phenomenon that both parents in a household work. As a result, most parents do not get the time to play or tidy up after their children play. Subsequently, such parents often opt to providing mobile devices to children to keep their attention and to ensure that they do not make a mess while playing. Moving forward, why parents should not choose to overexpose their children to smartphones will be delineated.
While initially it may seem that smartphones are a blessing that can calm any unmanageable children, and often it is observed that children can learn basic operations of the mobile device prior to speaking, in the long run it can pose serious risks to their healthy mental development. It is scientifically proven that children lean basic skills such as speech, communication, and movement through play. For example, there is a specific phase of a children’s life when it learns how to speak and communicate with others and overexposure to smartphones often results in children not learning these basic skills during that time. It is exceptionally concerning because if a children outgrows a specific phase of their life without learning the skills they were supposed to learn during that phase, then in later life they can never develop that skills and most of the time they need special help for the rest of their life.
Considering the above analysis it can be concluded that the increasing number of working parents in a household has resulted in children being overexposed to smartphones. Additionally, this problem needs to be urgently addressed as it can pose dangerous developmental issues in babies.