National Kindergarten Day 2024: no phone or tablet

A small glass screen that responds to touch. A seemingly ordinary glass screen, but it has a mesmerising effect on everyone. Especially children.

Children are capable of being lost for a few hours with their nose in the phone. Worse if they also forfeit their childhood and, according to the researchers, their ability to develop properly.

They are also able to forfeit their childhood and, according to the researchers, their ability to develop properly.

See also:

• Tobacco Cessation Day
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• World No Mobile Phone Day
• Clean Air Day
• Lung health after a pandemic
• Great Bee Day
• Blood Donor Day
• Fish Day
• Hug Day
• Bone Marrow Donor Day
• Tobacco Cessation Day

What the science says

According to research conducted by the Nobody's Children Foundation, as many as 40% of two-year-olds and younger (sic!) children in Poland use a smartphone or tabletand. In contrast, in a recent report commissioned by the Office of Electronic Communications for 2022, almost 10% of parents admitted to giving their child their own mobile phone before the age of six . In the 2021 NASK report, this was declared by 5.2% of parents .

Does this mean that we are more and more willing to give away our phones to children every year? As the surveys were carried out by other parties, may have differed in the selection and size of the representative sample, as well as in the methodology, no firm conclusions can be drawn. However, the trend may be of concern.

Although it may seem that a tablet or phone is a toy like any other, some scientists are of a different opinion. During the first few years of life, the human body develops most intensively - this includes the brain and the senses (such as the sense of balance)and.

At the end of the second and the beginning of the third year of life, a child has the most neuronal connections in his or her life. In the following years it will become apparent which of these will remain and which will atrophy. Of course, the most important connections, i.e. those most supported by the stimuli coming from the environmentand.

If a child's world is confined to a small glass screen, neuronal pathways dedicated to the stimuli coming from the screen will become fixed in their brain. An extension of this logic may be the conclusion that those responsible for agility, agility, creativity, social skills may disappear...

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Doesn't sound very good, does it?

In order for the preschooler's brain to develop properly, it needs stimuli and information touching all its senses. Kicking a ball, stacking blocks, touching the grass or a tree trunk, but also interacting with family members and peers shape the central nervous system, allowing the child to reach his or her full potentialand.

Dangers, or a word about addiction

Children learn much faster than adults and... fall into addiction much faster. This is why it is so important to establish and consistently adhere to rules for tablet and phone use from an early age.

Using tablets and smartphones for too long and too often can result in concentration disorders. There is constantly something going on on the small screen, and most of the time you don't need to focus on it at all. So it's not surprising that when a task needs to be completed that requires concentration, the child struggles to do soand.

Prolonged exposure to blue light, which is emitted by mobile device screens, disrupts sleep and compromises sleep quality. What's more, some children also reach for their phone at night - "because their parents can't see" or out of fear of missing something on social media. Without a healthy dose of sleep, the body doesn't have a chance to fully recover, which can have further health consequencesand.

Spending time on the phone doesn't leave much of it for socialising either. This may sound funny in the context of pre-school children, but this is when social skills are built. Children need socialisation, i.e. other children and people. Definitely not just the ones smiling on TikTok.

This virtual alienation can, in the long term, lead to deterioration of quality of life the child and even the onset of depressive symptoms.

When addicted, levels of aggression also increase - especially when trying to restrict a child's stimulant. Children of several years of age do not control their emotions, so parents may have to deal with their tantrums or hysterical attacks.

But the psychological and behavioural consequences of children abusing smartphones and tablets are not all. Researchers also point to an increased risk of obesity, which is associated with reduced physical activity.

The risk of obesity is also increased.

Another problem is eating problems. Snacking while watching a cartoon or playing a game goes virtually unnoticed. This is probably why as many as 25% of parents, use their phone and tablet when giving their children foodand.

It is increasingly common to find children who have spent the first 2 years of their lives in front of the television. And unfortunately, in some of these situations, it turns out that electronics have disrupted the child's development to such an extent that their functioning can easily be mistaken for autism, adds psychologist.

Can a preschooler safely use a smartphone?

In light of the above, is there a safe way to introduce a young person to technology? After all, you can't get away from it anyway... The tablet and phone are not the enemy. They can be used in play, but it must be done carefully, with forethought and when the child is at least two years old.

How to make a young child familiar with technology.

How to make the time spent with smartphones and tablets worthwhile and, above all, safe? Here are some rules:

• Do not use the phone and tablet as a reward. Rewarding your child with the opportunity to use these devices will build up the child's belief that they are special and valuable.
• Provide a safe and secure environment.
• Make sure your child does not stare at a small screen for more than 15 minutes at a time. In total, a preschooler should not spend more than an hour a day in front of a smartphone - the shorter, the better.
• Be sure that your child does not spend more than an hour at a smartphone.
• Preferably, the youngest should not use mobile devices every day. A colouring book or a book can be just as entertaining.
• Help your child maintain sleep hygiene and don't give them a phone or tablet for at least two hours before bedtime.
• Match stories, games and apps to your preschooler's developmental stage. Ideally, choose content that will be of value, such as object matching games and simple logic puzzles.
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• Don't leave your preschooler with a smartphone alone. Especially if the device has internet access. It will be easier for you to control what your child is watching. You can also talk to him/her about what he/she is seeing.
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And one more important thing: Don't go overboard. Everyone needs a moment to themselves and a rest sometimes. Statistics say that for 60% of parents, handing their child a phone or tablet is a moment of respiteand. The world won't come crashing down if you allow one more episode of your favourite cartoon.

Securing mobile devices

Even if you keep an eye on your child while using mobile devices, it's a good idea to enable parental protection mode on them. You can find it in every operating system - in the settings.

Parental protection mode will allow you to:

• set time limits for internet use,
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• filter dangerous content,
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• block online shopping,
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• monitor your child's online activity,
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To prevent snatching your phone when it has inadvertently been left in your child's sight, set a security password. This way you can limit excessive playing of games that do not require internet access. And you can avoid the "bscuybiunisuekkuehicsend" text messages sent by little fingers to your boss (which can be different).

And if the above-mentioned methods are not enough, you can use the phone as a security tool.

And if the above ways don't seem enough for you, you can download an app for parents mProtection, developed by the National Research Institute NASK - an expert in cyber-safety among children and young people.

Development by... phone?

It's possible! Instead of the 324th session of your favourite episode of Dog Patrol, offer your child simple but developing games and apps. With these, your preschooler can learn about animals, solve puzzles or learn languages.

They are a great way to get to know your child.

Valuable games can be found in the Safe Mobile Apps Catalogue on the Networkers website. We found a few more:

• Kahoot! Numbers by DragonBox - helps children understand numbers. Can be a great introduction to learning maths.
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• Monkey Stories: Books & Reading - compliant with the standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, it is used to learn English through play.
• Tinybop, The Human Body - enables you to see how the human body works. Anatomy given in an interesting, simple and accessible format for children.
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Summary