April 23, Thursday. We were in a developmental pediatrician’s clinic. Our main purpose that day was to have Marcus checked for his unexplained frailty–he falls, he trips for no apparent reason. And among the factors we believed that contribute to his abnormal condition is just his lack of physical activities compared with other children of his age.
Immediately after being checked by the doctor, Marcus went to his cousin who is seated just across the doctor’s desk. Jed was occupied with Minecraft (they have been playing this game most of the time since day one of Jed’s one-week vacation) on our PLDT Telpad. They were quiet–as I have advised them–but the gadget captured the doctor’s attention. We didn’t expect what she said next.
“Were you ever aware about the effect of that gadget to your kid?” the doctor asked. “We’ll I’ve read about it,” I replied defensively. Obviously, she has a lot more to say about it, she went on with her lecture.
According to her, these gadgets impact our children big time. Kids nowadays who start to learn, some as young as six months old, how to use smartphones and tablets exhibit at least one of the following characteristics: impatience, short attention span, excessively possessive, and snaps easily. She added that electronic gadgets have been observed to cause ADHD and even trigger autism. While she was spot on regarding the characteristics–it was everything we have observed from Marcus, I was skeptic about ADHD and autism.
Nevertheless I swear that day that there will be lesser gadget time for Marcus. I felt more convinced that he needs to get more physical activity. I thought it was time to pump his green bike back to life. But it was a plan that would change quickly the following day.
Are smartphones and tablets good for children then? Given the effects of these gadgets, would we want to keep our kids away from them? Of course, this where parenting comes in. The key here is appropriate control as well as being good role models. Parents must also have the awareness that different kids have different needs which for my wife and I right now is the most important thing.
After April 23 we are back to allowing Marcus to have more gadget time. My wife and I have agreed that we will not force him anymore to get engaged in physical activities. We will let him play Minecraft more where he can build his own world and move around any terrain without falling down, without getting hurt. The doctor won’t probably understand but hopefully someday she will.
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Mood: 7/10 Honks! (This toothache is killing me.)
Marcus Can Blog 