India
Gone are those days when children spent leisure time outdoors, laughing and jumping around, making a good amount of ruckus. Today, they are a silent lot, because they spend much of their time with their parents' cell phones. Doctors and psychologists warn that this is one disaster in the making
Updated : Nov 18, 2018, 05:12 AM IST
Touch phones are no more a luxury item. They have, in fact, graduated to becoming a silencing tool. It is not rare to see a parent thrusting a phone in the hands of his/her child to keep him occupied and less meddlesome. The child is always more than happy to trade his 'intrusive' behaviour for a phone. While the child's affliction for the phone was once a moment of wonder for parents and guests who admired the sight, today it is more of a sore. Doctors and psychologists say that addiction to the mobile phone not only affects a child's tactile growth but also his overall personality.
Dr Sagar Mundada, a psychologist with Health Spring, Mumbai has been treating children with such an addiction for a long time now. He adds that while the phone fixation phone is not limited to any particular age, for those as small as 3-5 years, the addiction is faster. Dr Mundada gave us an account of two of his patients.
Mumbai-based Nikit, who is only 4, has been on 'psychotherapy sessions' for phone addiction. "The child's obsession for watching cartoons for long hours has led to a drastic change in his behaviour. His conduct towards people was ruled by the cartoons he watched."
Rishabh, only 7, was referred to Dr Munanda by his school counselor. Rishab's interest in studies was on the slide and he was particularly inattentive in class. The school checked on him and after much nudging found out that the boy missed his father's mobile phone; hence he distanced himself from others in school. During outdoor visits, Rishab had begun to talk to strangers so that he could use their smartphone. "He was willing to take the risk and talk to strangers," Dr Sagar, added.
Dr Arvind Goregaonkar, head of the Orthopedic department in Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion, said that phone addiction also means that there is a tendency for the child to become a loner and his social habits taking a beating, "not to forget health issues such as muscle trouble, eye problems that also crop up."
The phone also eats into the child's sleeping time and if given a chance, sleep is sacrificed for a game on the cell phone. "This creates sleeping and other health issues for a child," Dr Goregaonkar surmised. At KEM Hospital's Ophthalmologist department, at least 2-3 of its new and daily patients are children.
(Names of children changed)
It is imperative that parents & school admins to take concrete steps to ensure that children as young as 3 years are not becoming ‘addicts’