“GPlaying with your cell phone before the age of two is bad. «The first thousand days of life (the 9 months of childbirth to which the first 24 months are added, ed.) are crucial for cognitive and emotional growth and having digital screens regularly available is a health risk.
Yet parents put their children in front of cell phone videos – already the majority at 15 months according to our data – to silence them when they cry, console them if they throw tantrums, entertain them, make them eat or fall asleep, without knowing the damage of this bad habit” comments the pediatrician Leo Venturelli, guarantor of the child’s rights childhood and adolescence in the Municipality of Bergamo, where the Ora che lo so so campaign began (oracheloso.bergamo.it), which also includes the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Paediatrics.
What are the risks for children?
«The use of tablets and smartphones it can interfere with vision, causing nearsightedness and farsightednesscause posture problems and predispose children to a sedentary lifestyle because it takes time away from motor play – explains the pediatrician -. These devices also impact learning ‒ sounds, movements, lights capture attention more than the real world ‒ and on the ability to regulate emotions: distracted by films they don’t learn to overcome moments of sadness or anger” explains Venturelli.
Finally, no to the cell phone at feeding timefor the experts: forcing the child to eat thanks to cartoons makes him ignore the signals of hunger and satiety and can lead to eating disorders.
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