GIVING gadgets to children is not a new sight. Sometimes parents lend gadgets as an entertainment option for children or so that children can be invited to work. But did you know, excessive screen time in early childhood can cause disorders that affect their development.
Quoted from the official website of the Directorate of Early Childhood Education at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), there are several developments that can be disrupted due to excessive screen time, either staring at gadgets such as cellphones or television.
1. Physical Development
Disorders in the physical development of early childhood are one of the things that can occur due to excessive screen time. The disorders include motor development and reduced food intake to shorter sleep duration.
Not only that, excessive screen time can also affect the development of children’s health. Being too busy with gadgets makes outdoor physical activity lower, which can result in children being overweight, addicted and increasing the risk of poor vision.
2. Social-Emotional Development
The negative impact of screen time on early childhood also occurs in social-emotional development. The impact on social development includes reduced socialization skills in children and loss of empathy, lack of interaction between parents and children, and the possibility of children accessing inappropriate content.
Meanwhile, in emotional development, excessive screen time can affect a number of things such as behavioral problems, peer relationship problems, poor emotional regulation, poor temperament, low emotional control. So that it results in poor psychosocial well-being, game disconnection, and game disorders. In addition, it also has an impact on reducing social skills, adaptive skills, and life skills in early childhood.
Also read: Asmirandah Reveals the Importance of Limiting Children’s Time with Gadgets
3. Cognitive Development
Children who spend too much time in front of screens are prone to having difficulty maintaining their attention on activities that require focus and concentration. Of course this will have an impact on the ability to participate in activities that involve cognitive involvement.
In terms of language, cognitive is all mental activities that enable individuals to connect, assess, and consider an event.
Knowing the three impacts of excessive gadget use is expected to provide understanding for parents and caregivers to limit screen time, ensure physical activity and time spent in front of the screen are balanced. Ideally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), children under 1 year old should not see the gadget screen at all. Children aged 1 to 2 years are not recommended to watch TV and videos, screen time is only limited, for example, doing video chatting with distant family members.
Meanwhile, children aged 2 to 6 years can stare at the gadget screen with a maximum screen time of one hour per day. Instead of providing gadgets as a tool for playing and entertaining children, parents are expected to be able to invite children to do more activities together and introduce the surrounding environment. (M-3)
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