Sir, – Karlin Lillington (Business + Technology, May 9th) highlights how her nephew, when a toddler, was able to explore electronic devices such as iPads and smartphones.
Most paediatric professionals would advise that the under-fours should be kept well away from all such devices, as this is the vital period for speech development. In the UK (where these things are tracked) they have noted a 58 per cent increase in the number of under-fives as having language problems or delayed speech which is termed “word poverty”. In some areas of the UK, 50 per cent of children begin school without the ability to speak using long sentences: this leads to long-term learning difficulties, as communications skills are the foundations of learning. In extreme cases children as young as four are becoming so addicted to smartphones and iPads that they require psychological treatment; the youngest known patient being treated in the UK is a four-year-old girl. Even when iPads are used for “educational” purposes the results on a child’s development will probably be negative.
In Ireland speech and language therapists have noted a deterioration in speech development in our young children caused by elder siblings, parents and others being so preoccupied with their electronic devices they have less time for conversation. In the UK the problem has got so bad, a “Say hello to your children” campaign has been launched. I just pray things are not as bad as that here; in the meantime, parents switch off your phones and talk to your children. – Yours, etc,
JOHN DEVLIN,
Erne Terrace,
Dublin 2.