“A few days ago I noticed a child in the playground. When he got tired, he went to the next room and took his mother’s mobile phone to play. At school, I let the kids listen to Petya and the Wolf, Sergei Prokofiev’s most famous musical fairy tale of all time, and they were looking for the voice on the screen.” – says Mrs. Maria Pafili “K”., teacher of the public 2nd kindergarten Cholargo. “Parents used to take their kids home so they wouldn’t play, but now they are begging them to put down their tablets and go play,” she adds for her part. Mrs. Sandra MavroidiPrincipal of the private elementary school “Trianemi”.

While there are schools that have converted textbooks to tablets, quite a few kindergartens and elementary schools are starting to raise awareness about the problem of tablet and mobile phone abuse by very young children, as “we listen to scientists about any risks, but not “I don’t know if and what kind of frustration over the years,” notes Ms Mavroides, whose school starts using tablets for educational purposes in 4th grade.

“I see that the use of mobile phones and tablets has affected the relationship of children. On the other hand, parents are outraged when children are “glued” to the screen, but are released instead of being encouraged to do something else,” says Ms. Pafili. She, along with Marietta Tsitzimeli, led the 2nd grade students of the 2nd Kindergarten of Cholargos in the creation of the book “Real Toys, Not Screens” with the aim of raising peer awareness of the need for the correct use of tablets. and mobile phones.

age impact

As presented in recent study “K” (Sunday, 08/01/2023) The American Pediatric Association has set times when babies and toddlers can use the device. For the first 18 months, he should not be exposed to the screen at all (including TV screens). From the age of 18 to 24 months, he can use the screen for a maximum of 30 minutes a day, always under the supervision of his parents and watching certain programs. From 2 to 5 years old, the baby can study at the screen for up to an hour, and after 5 years, the time in front of the screen increases to one and a half hours a day and up to two hours on Saturday and Sunday.

“Children need to develop learning skills. The tablet is very useful in learning, but it can’t… babysit. Parents should remember this. Children should experience more in the real world, not in the digital one,” emphasizes Ms. Mavroidi.

“We use lightweight devices, not tablets. We want to make it clear to children that they are using a computer and not a game console, ”says Mrs. Maria Philippiresponsible for digital education in Douka schools. In the early years of elementary school, education should focus on computational thinking.

Of course, it should be emphasized: the concern of parents and teachers is that children practice the skills they will need “in a world that is changing very quickly”, as Ms Filippi notes, “technophobia needs to be controlled, measurement of screen use and, of course, attention to expert advice.

POINT OF VIEW

Screen time is bad for your health

Dr. Spyros Kanellakis*

The problem of increasing time spent in a sitting position is largely a concern for children and adolescents, given the ever-increasing preoccupation with tablets and mobile phones. At the same time, time spent studying or reading books, although it is also a sedentary time, seems to be beneficial as it improves children’s school performance and other social skills, which ultimately positively affects their overall health.

According to a recent report from the World Health Organization, high-intensity physical activity has many health benefits for children and adolescents, including cardiorespiratory status, muscle strength, bone health and cardiometabolism, and reduced risk of obesity. It also appears to reduce the likelihood of depression, improving the clinical picture of children who already suffer from it. At the same time, it is associated with improved cognitive functions such as memory and executive ability, and therefore better school performance.

Conversely, time spent sedentary is associated with poorer cardiometabolic health, greater fat deposition and obesity, limited socialization, and lower student achievement, except for time spent reading and studying. Therefore, we understand that it is not enough for children, teens and adults to have physical activity in their lives, but to reduce sedentary time as much as possible, or at least limit it to reading time, reducing the maximum possible screen time.

* Dr. Spiros Kanellakis is a nutritionist, nutritionist, psychologist.