Istanbul Gelisim University - Using devices before the age of 3, their speech development may be delayed

Using devices before the age of 3, their speech development may be delayed

Pointing out that using technological devices such as tablets and mobile phones before the age of 3 may cause delayed speech in children, Prof. Dr. M. Meziyet Arı said, “Many research findings show that the development of children slows down as the time spent on the screen increases before the 30th month.”

Prof. Dr. M. Meziyet Arı from Istanbul Gelişim University, one of the experts on Child Development Education, made explanations about the effects of developing technology and its use on children. Stating that curiosity and research have been among the most basic needs since the early days of infancy, Arı said, “The baby, who scans the environment with luminous eyes to capture new and interesting images, uses this feature to discover her/his environment and to master the skills. When we observe a toddler, we see that s/he wants to touch and tamper with every object. The child discovers the properties of every object s/he tangibly touches. S/he learns the properties of hard, soft, thin, thick, heavy, light and similar objects by touching them. If a tablet is given to the hand of a child of this age, the child cannot touch, feel three-dimensional, and will move away from natural learning paths. Therefore, it is delayed to acquire the basic concepts (big - small, heavy - light, hard - soft, close - far, etc.) that form the basis of mental development.”

“SPEAKING CAN DELAY”

Stating that another important dimension of mental development is language development, Arı said: “Using technological devices such as tablets and mobile phones before the age of 3 may cause delay in speech. It also adversely affects their social emotional development by limiting their interaction with adults and other children. Long periods of time spent with tablets, phones and similar devices passivate the child and restrict its mobility, negatively affecting its physical development. It prepares the ground for obesity and other health problems. Many research findings show that as the time spent on the screen increases before the 30th month, children's development slows down. ”

Stating that efficient use of technology contributes significantly to education, Arı said: “The problem today is the uncontrolled use of the most effective tools of technology such as computer, tablet, television and telephone. This lack of control can lead our children and young people to addiction to technology. ”

“0 - 3 YEARS EDUCATION IS NOT INCLUDED IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM”

Emphasizing that child development and early childhood education studies in Turkey has been intensely focused on for the last 25-30 years, Prof. Dr. M. Meziyet Arı continued as follows: “Although we have made quite a distance in the field of early childhood education, it cannot be said that we have achieved our goals. I think we could not benefit from our educated educators in this field at a sufficient rate. We are still far from the goal of all our children to benefit from pre-school education. Our infancy and toddler children (0 - 3 years old) are not included in our education system. I believe that our young people who grow up in this field should be evaluated well.”

“THEY DON'T LIKE WRITING”

Mentioning that technology has positive and negative effects on young people, Arı said: “Our youngsters have become people who do not like to write. Besides, they had the chance to access information very quickly. Although this contributes to the development of self-confidence, the ever-decreasing job opportunities negatively affect their expectations for the future. ”