The way you act and the things you do have a huge influence on your childrenâs development. Itâs no secret that kids tend to follow their parentsâ example, whether itâs positive and constructive or harmful and destructive.
When a child sees you with your face constantly glued to your smartphone, theyâll think itâs the right thing to do. And thatâs paving the way for a lot of problems down the road. A lot of people seem to think that this is an issue, too. So when Juliana Mazurkewicz posted a photo of a note encouraging parents picking up their kids from daycare to get off their phones, the post went viral with over 2 million shares. Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview with pediatrician Dr. Liz Donner about the effects that parents behaving this way has on their children.
This photo of a daycare note went viral with over 2 million shares
Image credits: Juliana Mazurkewicz
“Kids absolutely learn from their parents’ actions,” Dr. Donner told Bored Panda. “Children begin to imitate their parents’ behavior even before the age of one year!”
“Older kids often look to their parents to learn which actions are favorable and appropriate,” the pediatrician pointed out.
Dr. Donner said that, in her opinion, kids are becoming “psychologically addicted to screens from a younger and younger age.”
“I fear that excessive screen time is leading children toward worsening attention deficits, social impairment, emotional dysregulation, learning difficulties, and violent tendencies.” But what can be done about this?
“To reverse these issues on a societal level will take an extreme level of heightened public awareness. It will require the willingness to enforce limitations and adapt personal change on the parents’ behalf.”
Some people did not agree with the note’s message
The vast majority of people supported the message that parents should give their toddlers the attention they deserve and feel responsible for the habits they instill in them.
However, there were some naysayers as well! They were mad that the daycare doesnât seem to care about some parentsâ careers, responsibilities, and accused the photo of shaming moms and dads.
For instance, Megan Zander writes on Scary Mommy that the noteâs an attempt to âmake mothers feel bad for trying to multitaskâ and the message itâs trying to send is, therefore, invalid.
âIf a daycare wants me off the phone that badly then they better also be willing to watch my children for free. My phone keeps me connected with work, and without my job, the daycare bill isnât getting paid,â Zander criticized the viral note.
âMoms arenât choosing the phone over their child. Theyâre just trying to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Working moms face enough judgment already. We donât need it from the daycare, too,â she added.
It’s important to limit screen time
However, this does make your kids more susceptible to spending way too much time in front of electronic devices. And thatâs unhealthy for everyone involved. In a previous interview with Bored Panda, Dr. Donner explained that the biggest challenge parents face when trying to limit their kidsâ screen time is finding what to replace it with.
âLimiting screen time increases the amount of valuable real-life skill development. Kids require actual human interaction to enhance their social skills and even motor development. They need to learn to understand real human facial expression, body language, tone of voice, and reciprocal communication skills,â Dr. Donner stressed.
She added: âScreen-free interaction with your children doesnât have to be anything fancy. Reading a book to them as early as 6 months of age has shown to increase their language and reading skills later in life. Hands-on play time will teach them social interaction and motor skills that are essential to their healthy development. Lastly, we find that less screen time in the toddler years corresponds to lower rates of ADHD by the age of 7.â
Most people supported the idea that parents should get off their phones when picking up their kids
Source: boredpanda.com