Speech and language delays are one of the most common developmental problems in children. But how does screen time affects the children’s speech and language delays? How does this two relate?
Little did we know, there is a special link between kids speech and language delays with screen time. These days it is somewhat a “norm” to see parents rely on the tech-savvy gadgets on their kids. Do you know that relying on the tech-savvy device can have a massive impact on their cognitive and language development?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), kids below two years old are not recommended to have any screen time at all. Meanwhile, kids age 2 to 5 years old is only allowed to have one hour of screen time in a day.
However, that is not the case these days. Parents just simply give their mobile phone or gadget for their kids whenever and wherever. Some parents even allow one to two hours of screen time despite their kids’ age – which is WRONG! At this age, your children should be taught and guided in a way that benefits their growth and developmental areas.
The Relationship Between Speech And Language Delays With Screen Time
First and foremost, what is speech and language delay?
Speech delay is the difficulty for kids to assemble the pronunciation sound of words correctly. They may able to communicate, but it is rather hard to understand it.
While language delay is the difficulty for kids to understand what others are saying. There are various types of language delays, such as the one that understands but isn’t communicating with others. Speech and language delays can be related to hearing impairment, Down’s syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
A study concluded that kids below one year of age who spend a lot of screen time have a risk of expressive speech delay — the lack of face to face interaction that linked to the development of language and other skills.
During this young age, their growth development is rather crucial. Screentime doesn’t benefit your kids at a younger age. Instead, there are more disadvantages compared to advantages if your child spending too much time on the screen.
- Screen time doesn’t teach your kids how to pick up a specific language or even vocabularies for them to learn and understand.
- Screen time only decreases your children’s chances to develop good speech and language skill.
- Not good for the eyes!
Do not rely on screen time of gadgets, videos, television and others. As a parent, you need to teach them the skills, communicate with them and let their speech and language skills develop naturally.
If you noticed your children is a late talker, let them socialize more. Talk to them, let them be friends with kids at their age, and they will catch up better once they are with their peers at the school.
They may go through some difficulty in developing some language and literacy skills at an earlier age, but remember to seek professional help if you notice your children still facing difficulties in their language after quite some time.
What You Should Do?
At this point, you need to know the pros and cons of each device in your surrounding – whether it gives benefit to your kids or not. It is best if you rely on yourself and teach your kids things that benefit their growth. Tech-savvy gadgets may be seen helpful as we live in this era, but it will only be useful to them at an older age.
You have to remember that being parents means more than just a “mom” and a “dad”. A parent is a children’s first teacher and educator. You can’t just rely on the technologies to ‘teach’ your children. You should educate your child at the same time.
Instead of relying on the fun TV shows, why not you watch it together with your kids. This way, you can still teach them while enjoying the show.
Kids need face to face interaction to learn and understand. You might think that watching TV means that you are still able to see face to face even though virtually. It isn’t the same as you and your kids sitting and watching it.
Rather than giving them their own screen time, you should invest their time with a hands-on task such as colouring, reading and many more other activity.
To Sum It Up!
No matter how busy you are, never forget that your kids need their attention and nourishment from their parents. Your kid’s growth development comes from you before others, thus it is essentials for you to put extra care for it.
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