Should handheld devices be banned for kids under 12? Cris Rowan, pediatric occupational therapist and author, thinks they should be.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Society of Pediatrics, infants aged 0-2 years should not have any exposure to technology, children aged 3-5 should be restricted to one hour per day and 6-18 year old kids should be restricted to 2 hours per day.
Rowan argues that children and youth use technology 4-5 times the recommended amount with serious and often life threatening consequences. Handheld devices include cell phones, tablets, electronic games – think of iPads, iPhones, iPods, Ninendo DS’s.
Reducing the amount of usage of handheld devices is crucial but I think banning makes it extreme. How do we go back in time? How can we reverse back to when technology was used minimally? Rewinding to a simpler time after technology has been introduced is very difficult.
Also tech tools such as iPads are being used in schools as part of teachers’ curriculum, and the spending of those devices is paid for by boards of education.
Of course it’s important for parents and children to have screen-free quality family time however it seems silly to deny children access to technology tools which will be the norm for these children in future learning and employment.
At the same time, it’s awful to see some children as young as three years old, spending hours upon hours between watching television, playing video games, watching or playing games on an iPad. Parents can set limitations – here are 5 ways to limit screen time for children.
When we were children, we didn’t have devices or videos to keep us occupied in the car, at appointments or at home. We’d use our imagination, read books, play games, tell jokes… it’s baffling to see a bunch of kids together sitting down in a row and they’re all on their devices.
As parents spend more time on their devices, they are disconnecting from their children and vice versa.
What do you think? Should handheld devices be banned for kids under 12?
