Why are children losing the ability to talk?

By Entela Resuli

Children today are no longer lured by balls and dolls when it comes to playing, but by phones and tablets.

In the few palaces with courtyards that you find in Tirana, you rarely see children playing loudly with each other. The little ones sit in a corner and face to face, they see the small screen that could be a phone or a tablet.

Another image that appears is the one in the cafe, where the mothers sit down to drink a coffee and have a quiet chat with their friends, leaving the child in the hand... the phone.

That's all it takes and he is silent, getting into all the colorful games that this object has.

But is this a proper action, is the child disconnected from reality? Aren't the parents themselves the ones who are pushing them towards this world?!

Children are losing the ability to have a conversation due to the use of technology, says the author of the "ImpyKid" series of children's books.

Jeff Kinney, who wrote the Diary of a WimpyKid series of children's books, is concerned as children fail to "socialize"

The American author has sold more than 150 million copies of the WimpyKid series in print, and his books have been adapted into films.

Kinney says screen time is a big problem for writers who want to sell their books in the real world.

He described children's relationship with technology as a "great experiment of our times".

"I don't really know if anyone has the right answer, but what is undeniable is that the way our children communicate with each other has changed radically and maybe forever," he told AssociationPress.

"What we want from our children is to be fully socialized and talk to each other and I think that's a big loss."

"If I'm in the car with my kids, now everybody's on their phone... and it's weird to drive when everybody's on their phone."

"I think that's getting lost and I think we're all guilty as parents. I always think about this".

Kinney, whose books have been translated into more than 50 languages ??in the world, added that "the amount of time children are spending in front of the smartphone screen is the problem that every parent is facing these days."

"During the time I've been writing children's books, children's relationship with electronic devices has changed substantially," he said. "It's getting harder and harder to write about childhood without mentioning phones and instant messages."

Little ones facing technology

A French study has observed and analyzed the behavior of children in different age groups who use tablets and other technological devices. The conclusion? It is not advisable to use them alone and for a long time.

During various holidays many technological gifts arrive in our homes. If once upon a time, technologies were reserved only for adults, today more and more parents and friends give our children, even very young ones, small technological devices such as tablets or interactive robots.

But does it make sense to give a tablet to a 3-year-old? As stated in another study, the use of technological devices by preschool children can be an opportunity or a problem, depending on how they are used.

Let's start from an objective fact: children, even very young ones, have no problem using smartphone or tablet applications. A recent American study with children from 0 – 8 years says that from 9 – 12 months, children are able to learn and use apps without problems.

In practice, the ease of use of touch devices has removed the language barrier that has long been the main obstacle to learning technology. Today, to use touch technologies it is not necessary to know how to read or write, it is enough to control your fingers. Not only that: many parents have discovered that their children enjoy using apps, in some cases a lot; dare to take away a child's tablet or cell phone and you will be faced with prolonged crying and discussion.

The Italian Association of Preventive and Social Paediatrics, studying this phenomenon, has concluded that mobile phones should not be given to children under 10 years old, because the use is "increasingly transforming into an abuse" and the new effects of electromagnetic waves for health "they are becoming more and more visible". The effects of their use are loss of concentration, difficulty in understanding and aggressiveness.

'Confession Room' exclusive column of VoxNews.

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