Time spent on screens for children under the age of five could be dangerous for the proper development of their brains.
Tuesday, doctor Jimmy Mohamed deciphers why when the youngest are on smartphones, tablets or watching TV it can have effects on their behavior.
Smartphone, tablet and television should be used sparingly in our daily lives. Especially for the little ones. Inappropriate use of these screens would impact children's development by blocking their social interactions. This is what the doctor Jimmy Mohamed explains, Tuesday in his column Our Health in the morning of Europe 1.
“First of all, I'm not lecturing anyone this morning. I know sometimes it's complicated. And let's face it, sometimes real life is different from the little lessons one can teach. I would like to tell you about a Finnish study which found that inappropriate use of screens before the age of 5 is associated with behavioral problems.
Hyperactivity, impulsivity, learning difficulties
The study warns against any type of screen such as television, video games but also tablets, with these little rhymes that all look cute, but that will have an impact on children's brains.
>> Find Jimmy Mohamed's column every morning at 8:37 am on Europe 1 as well as in replay and podcast here
The experience is rather simple: parents were asked about the time of use of their child's screens from the age of 18 months.
From this age, they spend an average of 30 minutes and almost two hours a day at 5 years old.
And the more this screen time increases, the more hyperactivity, impulsivity and even learning difficulties have been observed in the youngest.
Screen reduces time spent interacting with other family members
The screens will in fact disturb the sleep of the child.
And if he sleeps poorly, then he may be hyperactive.
Plus, when a 2 year old baby is behind a cartoon, it cuts down on the time spent interacting with other family members.
He will then play less with mum or dad, read less, fight less with brothers and sisters.
In short, everything that will allow the brain to develop properly is going to be somehow stolen by this screen time.
The time spent on tablets, video games or watching television is also a time when the child is not moving.
And there is a detrimental effect of this sedentary lifestyle on the heart and on the weight.
Finally, I would say that these screens should be used under the strict control of the parents and for the shortest possible time, even if, once again, it is sometimes complicated ".