The news
According to a study published last month The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics1-year-old children exposed to more than four hours a day in front of a screen experienced delays in the development of communication skills and problem solving at 2 and 4 years.
The investigation also revealed that the 1-year-old children who were exposed earlier to a screen than their peers presented delayed at 2 years in the development of fine motor skills and personal and social skills. Sin embargo, estos retrasos parícan disiparse a los 4 años.
The study did not find that the time in front of a screen will cause delays in development, but rather that there is a relationship between a greater exposure time in front of a screen with delays in the development of babies. According to experts, this pattern could explain the value of time face to face for small children.
Why is it important?
David J. Lewkowicz, developmental psychologist at the Yale University Infant Studies Center, affirmed that the face-to-face interaction between parents and children is crucial to give them a valuable set of information to babies, including facial expressions , las palabras, el tono de voz y la feedback física se combinan para expresser lenguaje y significado.
“Esto no ocurre cuando estás viendo una screen”, he commented and added that he did not surprise the results of the investigation.
The findings, of Japanese researchers, were extracted from questionnaires on development and time in front of a screen that was delivered to the parents of almost 8000 small children. In general, se descubrió que los bebés exposed to greater levels of time in front of a screen were children of younger mothers, with lower incomes and levels of education in the home and those who suffered from postpartum depression. (It was reported that only four percent of babies were exposed to screens for four or more hours a day, while 18 percent spent between two and less than four hours in front of one screen a day and the majority, two hours ).
The study highlighted a “dose-response association” between the time in front of a screen and the delays in development: while the more time the babies were exposed to a screen, the more likely they were to present delays in development.
¿Qué sigue?
The authors of the study pointed out that the investigation did not distinguish between the time in front of a screen that had as its objective to be educational and the time in front of a screen more focused on entertainment. The researchers added that future studies should explore this perspective.
According to Lewkowicz, parents regularly ask how much screen time is adequate. Su respuesta: “Habla con tu hijo lo más que puedas, cara a cara todo lo que puedas”, he mentioned.
Pedirles a los padres que priven todo el tiempo de pantallas a sus hijos es poco práctico, affirmed: “Nadie le hará caso a eso.” Tiene que ser con moderación. Con una fuerte dose de interaction social en la vida real”.
Matt Richtel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and reporter in San Francisco. He joined the Times in 2000 and his work is centered on science, technology, business and storytelling around these topics. Matt Richtel is sad
