Children’s Internet Safety 19 Babies learn the most from human interaction Patricia Kuhl is one of the world’s leading brain scientists and runs experiments with more than 4,000 babies each year. “What we’ve discovered is that little babies, under a year old, do not learn from a machine,” she says, pointing to several brain scans on a computer. “Even if you show them captivating videos, the difference in learning is extraordinary. You get genius learning from a live human being, and you get zero learning from a machine.” Perhaps that is why theWorld Health Organization recommends no screen time for babies under 2 and no more than one hour of screen time a day for those aged 2 to 4. Encourage your child to use resources on the internet to help them get up and get moving, like online exercise videos for children and video games that require physical movement. Screens hijack attention spans For children to be successful, they need to learn how to concentrate and focus. That ability starts to develop during their earliest years when their brains are more sensitive to the environments around them. For a brain to develop and grow, it needs essential stimuli from the outside world. More importantly, they need time to process those stimuli. While reading storybooks out loud gives children time to process words, images and voices, the constant absorption of on-screen images and messages affects their attention span and focus. Screens curtail ability to control impulses Young children need their dose of boredom. It teaches them how to cope with frustration and control their impulses. If young children are constantly being stimulated by screens, they forget how to rely on themselves or others for entertainment. This leads to frustration and hinders imagination and motivation. BABIES NEED HUMANS, NOT SCREENS cont’d continued Image by freepik.com
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