Published By: Sayan Paul

5 reasons you should not give your kids a smartphone

Smartphones have several harmful effects on your kids.

They could take a real toll on your kids' overall growth and development.

Read ahead to learn more!

Gone are the days when kids used to play in the fields, coming back home with sweat and dirty clothes. Today, it seems like most kids have their smartphones, and they don't prefer anything but staring at the screens all time. What's worse is that many parents encourage their kids to do so, in order to keep them busy and get accustomed to the technologies.

However, smartphones (and also other electronic gadgets) are detrimental to children, especially below 12 years old. In this article, we'll discuss five main reasons why you should never give your kids a smartphone.

It may ruin their creativity

Kids addicted to smartphones don't prefer reading a book, going outside, or talking with others. Also, those electronic gadgets make it easier for them to access videos, games, and more. This, in the long run, ruins their creative minds and prevents the ability to imagine.

It may limit their cognitive skills

Research has found that smartphones can redirect a kid's consideration. The radiation affects their brain tissues and eventually prevents the development of their visual-motor skills & sensorimotor. This is linked to a weakened focus, concentration, ability to learn, and more. A study has also indicated that kids who use smartphones for over 2 hours every day tend to have a lower level of cognitive skills.

It may make them get less sleep

Smartphones emit blue lights that restrict the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and further disrupt the body's sleep-wake cycle. Hence, kids who use smartphones (especially before bedtime) tend to get less sleep than others. This leads to many other issues in turn as well.

It may cause social anxiety

One needs to learn social skills from an early age, to grow (both personally and professionally) in the future. But kids nowadays are so busy with their smartphones that they don't get interested to see the real world. As a result, they get very much nervous during face-to-face social interaction. This is social anxiety, leading to several critical issues in their life.

It may alter the parent-kid relationship

Kids, especially between the agesof 0 and 5, go through a period of development, and this is the time when parents should establish a bond with them. Some research studies have found that using smartphones change the neural pathways of kids, and eventually affect their relationship with others. Hence, it takes a serious toll on the relationship that should be there between a parent and a kid.

Along with these, it may also lead them to eye damage, dementia, obesity, and several other issues. Also, they may become violent in the future due to the lack of parental attachment.