It seems to be pretty common practice these days that when looking after kids or even babies, plunking down an iPad in front of them, popping on a cartoon, and you’re good to go as far as keeping them distracted or entertained is concerned. Now while it does seem to work, psychologist Dr. Richard House argues that it is a bad idea.
According to the good doctor, he claims that giving kids an iPad could be considered a form of child abuse, claiming that the content on devices like tablets will give them a distorted experience of the world. He claims, “To confuse children when they have hardly begun to get a handle on this world, by introducing them to virtual, techno-magical worlds, is surely an absurd reversal of the natural order of things.”
He goes on to add, “If this is the case with adults, how much more is it relevant to young children whose brains are still at very early stages of development. It seems that the arrogance of modern technology (together with ruthless commercialism) knows no bounds. On the basis of what I’ve argued here, giving iPads to babies is tantamount to child abuse.”
Now we’re sure that some of you guys might argue with his logic, but House is not the only professional who has argued against giving children devices like that. Previously members of the UK’s Association of Teachers and Lecturers have claimed that giving children as young as 3-4 years old tablets will result in them finding it hard to understand real space, and that it results in poor dexterity of their fingers. Do you guys agree?
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