All toons, no talk leaves toddlers at loss for words

For Vanitha and Karthik, parents of a two-and-a half -year-old Manish, it was a casual visit to a paediatrician that helped them realise the problem. When the child did not respond when the doctor called him name, the medico quizzed the parents on how much time they let him spend watching television. The parents confessed that they unknowingly allowed him five hours of watching television and videos on the computer. “He wouldn’t eat or let me do my household chores and I had no choice but to play rhymes and videos on TV or computer”, says Vanitha. As a result, the child barely utters a few words and has poor eye contact. Vanitha is not alone; according to city doctors, many parents commit the same mistake. 

Dr Madhu Purushothaman, senior consultant, paediatrics, SRM Institute of Medical Science, says we don’t have a separate guideline in India, but according to the American Academy of Paediatrics, children below two years of age should not be exposed to TV or any other media. Also, the time should be limited to an hour during weekdays and two hours during weekends for those above two years of age. He explains, “The cartoons and rhymes they are exposed to are fast paced and children recognise it as the normal pace. Therefore, normal activities bore them. There are studies that show that too much exposure to these videos makes them hyperactive, and this also cuts down the time for outdoor activities that help them develop interaction skills.”

Stressing upon the need to let a child develop naturally, Joseph Sunny, director, Pebbles Child Development Centre, says, “Children develop speech and language skills by three years and it is a crucial time for making eye contact. By the time they are three, they should ideally be able to speak three words at a stretch. Sensory inputs from outdoor play and interaction with people play a vital role in this period and gadgets disrupt this process.” 

R Venkateswaran, Child and adolescent psychiatrist, says that even rhymes and videos can be of help, when the parent participates. “Rather than allowing the child to watch the videos by themselves, if the parents participates by singing along and imitating actions, the co-tutoring is beneficial for the child,” he says. He adds that using the media as a pacifying tool could lead a child to throw tantrums. 

A delay in speech and language among children has other implications, says Joseph. “When we assess the reasons of learning disabilities among children, at our clinic, we find in 80 per cent of the cases, there has been a delay in speech and language. It becomes important to identify it and rectify it by the time they are three,” he says.