Scientists speculate that diverting a small child's attention using smart phones and tablets can be detrimental to the internal mechanisms of self-regulation. Pacifying a toddler with iPads and tablets could obstruct their capability to learn self-regulation.
Boston University School of Medicine researchers discovered that children under 30 months can impair a child's development skills that is vital for sciences and maths. However, some studies say that it benefits toddlers to use mobile devices which includes early literacy skills and also helps better academic understanding for kids with autism, according to The Guardian.
"If these devices become the predominant method to calm and distract young children, will they be able to develop their own internal mechanisms of self-regulation?" the scientists asked.
Some households and parents use television or computers to pacify their kids, it is believed that these young children can learn more from media and videos than from human interaction. However, it is not clear if the same effects can happen to those kids using smart phones only.
More and more kids rather play with their gadgets than interact with other kids in real. Playtime has been online and on media. These kids who spend more time on gadgets and less time with their peers can lose some skills without them knowing, Tech Co reported.
"These devices may replace the hands-on activities important for the development of sensorimotor and visual-motor skills, which are important for the learning and application of maths and science," explained Jenny Radesky, Clinical Instructor in developmental-behavioral pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine.