Children's use of gadgets often comes under scrutiny. Excessive use of gadgets can make children addicted and disrupt brain growth. However, if given in the right proportion, using gadgets with children can actually encourage their growth and development.

Benefits of devices in children's growth

Utilizing devices for children, particularly toddlers through elementary school age, can offer several advantages when done in moderation. Some of these benefits include:

Stimulates motor skills and cognitive development

Engaging with devices during play helps children refine their motor skills by coordinating eye and hand movements. This activity also involves using muscles in the lips, tongue, hands, and feet, further enhancing motor development.

Additionally, actions like pressing buttons or selecting desired objects not only stimulate motor skills but also encourage cognitive processes in children, fostering their thinking abilities.

Encourages creative thinking

Engaging with interactive videos can stimulate children to think creatively by enhancing their ability to strategize. This type of play can improve their problem-solving skills and overall cognitive flexibility.

Stimulate visual and auditory development

Exposure to videos and games on devices with captivating sounds and visuals can spark children's interest in visuals and sounds. This engagement also contributes to enhancing children's visual and auditory development.

Foster children's creativity

When a child finds inspiration in a game, they may be motivated to draw or create content resembling what they enjoy. With proper guidance, this can ignite children's creativity.

Encourage social development

Early engagement with devices can also contribute to children's social and communicative skills. For instance, they may learn foreign languages used in games or videos, and they can also learn about taking turns and collaborating while playing.

How long is their limit for children playing with gadgets?

Even though it has many benefits, experts continue to warn that excessive use of gadgets can harm children's development.

Children under 2 years old

It is not recommended that children under the age of two use any type of device. At this age, children still require direct interaction to advance their social development. According to the Baby Center, if you want to give your children a gadget, do so for no more than 15-20 minutes and not every day.

Older children

For older children, experts recommend limiting the duration of device use to only 1-2 hours per day. When allowing children to play with devices, parents are also encouraged to accompany and interact with their children, not just let them play with devices alone.

When giving gadgets to children, sometimes,, even though parents have set a limit of only 1-2 hours per day, this duration can cause children to become tired. Unfortunately, there are no clear signs that children are having too much screen time.

If children start to show symptoms of excessive screen time, like the following, then parents should start to be alert. Some symptoms of excessive screen time include:

• Children lack physical activity
• Experiencing sleep disturbances
• Headache
• Eyestrain
• Experiencing emotional changes
• Lack of communication skills

If you need medical advice or consultation, you can either visit a doctor or make use of the consultation features that are available in the Ai Care application by downloading the Ai Care application from the App Store or Play Store.

Looking for more information about pregnancy, breastfeeding, and the health of women and children? Click here!