Playing gadgets is not bad for children's social skills

Gadgets are often an option to distract children when parents are busy working or taking care of the house. On the other hand, the use of cellphones, tablets, and similar gadgets is often blamed for obstructing children's social skills. This also makes many parents worry.

A study just published earlier this year has shown the opposite result. Gadgets do not hinder children's social skills as has been thought. Even so, there are a number of things you need to look at before allowing your little one to play gadgets.

Gadgets and children's social development

A group of researchers from Ohio State University, USA, compared the social skills of children who entered kindergarten in 1998 with those who entered kindergarten in 2010. Comparisons were made based on teacher and parent assessments.

They then studied the data using the program Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) designed for long-term research. This data was collected from the time the children were still in kindergarten to the fifth grade of elementary school.

In general, children in 2010 actually had a slightly higher social skill score than children in 1998. Based on the teacher's assessment, their social skills also persisted throughout the five years of schooling.

Children who play gadgets very often, both from the 1998 and 2010 groups, also have good social skills. These skills were even slightly higher than the children who played gadgets less often.

They also added that children were still able to interact and have good self-control. Overall, the research shows that the length of time playing gadgets is not shown to reduce children's social development.

However, gadgets are not recommended for toddlers

Keep in mind that the study was conducted on children over five years of age. Parents should not allow toddlers to play gadgets, because excessive use of gadgets can increase the risk of attention deficit disorder.

This is mentioned in a study in the journal JAMA Network. After being researched, children who had been playing gadgets since they were one year old were at greater risk of experiencing autism-like disorders.

The use of gadgets does not actually directly cause autism. It's just that children under five who play gadgets more often and rarely interact with their parents tend to show symptoms resembling autism.

Although it does not reduce children's social skills, gadgets are also not reliable for the learning process. You may be able to find lots of videos made to foster child development, but learning from videos is not the same as learning from parents.

Children learn by imitating their parents. However, they couldn't do this if they grew up on gadgets. So, it would be nice if parents continue to play directly with children so that their development is more optimal.

Be careful with blue light exposure from gadgets

There are various benefits of playing gadgets for children. This tool helps you get information about your child's development and development. Children who are old enough to play gadgets can also learn from useful websites.

However, children are also at risk of addiction to gadgets if their use is not controlled from the start. Many experts also often warn of the impact of blue light from gadget screens on children's health and sleep quality.

Blue light from gadget screens can inhibit the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep and keeps your sleep cycle regular. In addition, blue light also makes children wake up late at night so that their sleep cycle becomes chaotic.

As a result, children do not sleep well and their bodies do not get adequate rest. They also wake up more often in the morning drowsy even though they have slept for eight hours.

Children who are sleep deprived may be more irritable, feel anxious, and have difficulty controlling their behavior. This can interfere with children when interacting with their friends, reduce performance at school, and create moodbad.

The use of gadgets in general does not harm children's social skills. However, that doesn't mean your little one can play gadgets for hours without parental supervision. Even children should not play gadgets if they are still toddlers.

You can introduce gadgets to children when they are old enough. Also limit its use and don't give gadgets at night when the child is about to sleep. As long as use is controlled, parents and children alike can benefit from this device.