Children vulnerable to smartphone, tablet addictions
Category: Mental Health and Wellness
Via: buzz-of-the-orient • 11 years ago • 1 commentsChildren vulnerable to smartphone, tablet addictions
By CBC News, cbc.ca
Some toddlers today are choosing their parents' smartphones or tablets over dolls or Lego blocks, but some experts say too much screen time at a young age can lead to problems.
Winnipegger Jared Mcketiak's two-year-old son can already download applications, play games and take a picture on his dad's smartphone.
"It's kind of scary," said Mcketiak. "I mean we never grew up with that technology."
Skeptical of the implications it could have on his son, Mcketiak has scaled back on the time the toddler is allowed on his smartphone.
What worries Mcketiak most, however, are responses such as, "No! Give it back," which he gets when trying to take the phone away from the youngster.
"It's a tough thing for me because I embrace technology. I use technology all the time at work. So I see the benefits of it," said Mcketiak. "But it's scary to see how quickly [children] grasp it and how quickly it becomes part of their day-to-day lives."
"They're doing things with the phones that I would have never dreamed of at that age, obviously," he said.
He's not the only one who is concerned. Chapman Daycare in Winnipeg has banned all video games after staff noticed kids were glued to the screen.
Tech addiction is a disorder, say experts.
Read the whole article:
http://news.ca.msn.com/local/manitoba/children-vulnerable-to-smartphone-tablet-addictions
I know there is at least one "tough-love" camp in China for the purpose of curing children from internet-addiction.