Laura Colladodelegate of Educational Services of Cavall de Cartró, He is very blunt in conversation with ABC: «Neither at home nor at school Children should have a mobile phone during their childhood years, much less from zero to three years old. “It is a serious mistake.”
In his opinion “we have transferred a need from families to children. We give them a mobile phone because it is an easy resource so that they are still and quiet when we come home tired from work and want to relax or we have household chores to do; when they are a little older because this way we make sure that they have arrived somewhere safely when they go alone (when in reality there are other devices that fulfill this function; because that is how they interact with their friends from school, when the truth is that they spend every day 8 hours together…”
The truth is that parents – Collado continues – also feel pressured by the environment because the most common thing is for them to say “my son won’t be the only one who doesn’t have it…”. “One has to seek a balance and be aware of the dangers of giving them these devices ahead of time. The fault that they get hooked on technology ultimately lies with the parents who are the ones who allow them to use it, access inappropriate networks and content and do not set the necessary limits. Children must be given alternatives to that they are distracted without technology. “The younger they are, the easier it is for them to get distracted and play with any other object or game and, most importantly, parents must dedicate time to share with them.”
He assures that there is more and more information about the risks that exist when giving devices at such an early age and that schools are also making a great effort to hold support sessions for families in this regard. «Just like no one would give a cigarette or a glass of alcohol “To a two-year-old, you don’t have to give them a screen either.”
This is also what he warns Rosa García Roura, specialized in Communication and Pedagogical Innovation and member of the Cavall de Cartró communication team, pointing out that prolonged use of screens can interfere with cognitive, physical and language development. «The first years of life are crucial for cognitive and language development, and, in fact, there are already studies that show that prolonged use of screens can interfere with this process. Specifically, it is confirmed that those children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a screen can experience delays in language and cognitive skills, as well as having more difficulties recognizing and responding to emotions. “This can negatively impact their ability to form healthy social relationships.”
It also explains that prolonged exposure to screens is associated with physical risks. “The childhood obesity, eye fatigue and the increase in cases of myopia are consequences directly related to the lack of physical activity that often accompanies the excessive use of electronic devices. For all these reasons, it also insists on the need to establish clear and strict limits that ensure that technology does not replace key activities such as physical play, reading or real social interactions.
He considers that the ban on cell phones in schools “has already become a turning point, a first step to guarantee that new generations grow healthy and prepared for an increasingly technological and balanced future, but it must be complemented with other efforts to reduce, from home, their exposure in the first years of life.
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