No cellphone for baby!
By Vicki Warner
@VickiJW (260)
Canada
September 19, 2015 7:14pm CST
It wasn't all that long ago that when someone did something really silly you would say, "use your brains!" to indicate they need to think more carefully before repeating that again.
But what if you no longer had to use your brains? Because now your smart phone IS your brains? What would that do to us as a society? How or why would you have to learn, when you wouldn't need to use your brains?
When babies are first born they have literally billions of neurons, or brain cells. Unlike other cells in your body they aren't replaced through your life. You have them, and if they're not used the brain decides to prune them out. The nerve pathways that would develop to and from them just never develop.
The crucial time for this development is during the first two years. That's why pediatricians beg you not to let your little one be exposed to media technology before then, and after then, only in a very minimal way.
I know, I know, technology keeps them quiet. But think about it, are little babies and toddlers meant to be quiet? No, they naturally explore as much as they can. They touch everything they can find. They're noisy as they go through their milestones of development.
You don't need anything to amuse them, except maybe a piece of paper, or a little piece of string. They'll do wonderful things with simple objects. But don't expose them to your cellphone, or other techie media before they're old enough. Let those little brains develop as they have before smart phones were ever invented. When they explore, using their hands, with different objects a magical thing happens. Those neural pathways develop like crazy!
11 people like this
11 responses
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
20 Sep 15
I have a cell phone for emergency reasons but hardly use it and if so to talk to my kids..But all my kids and one and their children are now having them...I feel it is so common now but very ridiculous..
Even as a teen i was hardly on the phone but my Grands and their tech stuff drives me crazy..i have to put the stuff away so i can have one on one time with them
3 people like this
@VickiJW (260)
• Canada
20 Sep 15
My background is in early childhood education. I have taught all 11 courses. at universities. I have studied brain development in children extensively, and this recent development fills me with absolute horror, especially as it coincides with numerous bahavioral problems now being observed by specialists.Parents are routinely putting their children on medications for that too.
It's such a shame for our whole society.
2 people like this
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
20 Sep 15
@VickiJW trusting doctors over common sense seems to be the pattern here..
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
20 Sep 15
i so agree! drives me nuts when i see folks babies fightin' 'em o'er their dang phones - a learnt behavior 't such a crucial stage in their development. give a toddler a box 'f crayons 'n a box 'n they'll entertain 'emselves fer hours, lol. they don't need that constant stimulation 'n obsession so many parents seem to crave.
3 people like this
@VickiJW (260)
• Canada
20 Sep 15
@crazyhorseladycx as you know, I've written about this before, and it's always so sad to see babies experimenting and then demanding these phones, when you know the damage it causes to natural brain development. Unfortunately I don't think most folks are listening! Strange thing is, you can see the evidence of this altered brain development every day in society.
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
20 Sep 15
@crazyhorseladycx @VickiJW You are both so right, children should be able to amuse themselves. And they need to get outside and just play.
3 people like this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
20 Sep 15
Kids don't have as many opportunities to just explore the world from the ground up as they once did. We had days and days to grow and play without anything more advanced than a television and we spent so much time with other children that we learned from them. It's amazing how early kids are getting phones. From personal experience, you don't want toddlers near technology. They put grape jelly in it.
2 people like this
@VickiJW (260)
• Canada
20 Sep 15
Parents boast about their children and their competence with smartphones. This is incredibly harmful to their brain development. They won't see this until later on, then they might be those medicating their children, or finding remedial help for them.
You can help by drawing their attention to this, and also academic studies. The problem with that is they're often not written in reader friendly language!
1 person likes this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
20 Sep 15
I absolutely agree with not letting children at a young age have things like cell phones. I notice when i go out and buy something if a young teenager waits on me they can't seem to make change unless they have a calculator in front of them. How sad that is and it comes from not using math any more to do anything. There is too much of this happening and people are not using their common sense any more.
@rosekiss (30414)
• Eugene, Oregon
20 Sep 15
I have a smartphone that I use to keep in touch with my family, as I have a daughter that lives in another state. Talking to her on the phone is my way of keeping in touch. I use it for the internet and apps as well.
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
21 Sep 15
Things have changed so much since I was a child and my kids were young. I think children should be encouraged to go outside and play and not sit inside and play video games or watch a lot of TV. This doesn't teach children to be social which is a very big part of the growth and development.
1 person likes this
@abonnen (39)
• United States
14 Sep 16
I have always been against cell phone until teenagers can pay for them their selves or start driving, that is what I had to do. I had a pre paid phone card to use the office phone at school if it was an emergency, or I mean if it is an emergency the office will call the parents. I had a cell hone for a while but I decided a couple of years ago to get rid of mine completely I felt like it was a distraction plus I get a free home line with my internet and I work from home. When I leave the house I just give the people I am visiting a call before I leave so they know I am coming.
