Allowing infants to watch tablets and TV could impair their emotional well-being and academic achievement once they reach the age of 9 according to a Harvard University Study. Children’s Hospital of New Orleans Pediatrician Dr. Susan Fielkow agrees and said it can affect a child’s executive functioning skills.
“Which are cognitive skills that have to do with organization and planning, and those are very important to our learning, our social skills, regulating our emotions,” said Fielkow.
She said these particular skills are the basis of one’s academic success and personal relationships.
But Fielkow said there’s a question of whether or not it’s the electronic equipment or screen time that’s somehow affecting the brain…
“But I also think the other argument is that they are a substitution for other forms of learning and development,” said Fielkow.
The study plans to do further research to determine if screen time caused impairments or if other factors in a child’s environment are responsible for poorer executive functioning. Fielkow said if screen time is a replacement for social interaction, direct parenting, learning, and teaching…
“I’m not convinced the screen time is the culprit. I think the problem is the lack of the other and it replaces it,” said Fielkow.
For more on the study click here.
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