There has been a long-running debate on whether or not parents should introduce technology into their children's lives early on. Although it remains at a standstill, many parents couldn't help but let their toddlers become dependent on their iPhone, iPad and whatnot.
Gadgets as a medium
Many parents are guilty of doing this: lending your children your smartphone or tablet just so you won't have to deal with their toddler tantrums, especially for children with problematic behavior. According to WFMJ, a study revealed that some parents do this as a way to calm the children down. It involved 144 kids in low-income families, ranging between 15 and 36 months of age. The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Do U turn to tablets or TV to help calm your child? New research finds many parents use devices to help pacify kids https://t.co/5hDkf3x1Fc
— CtrMediaChildHealth (@cmch_boston) March 1, 2016
"We found that the less control and more frustration parents felt over their children's behavior, the more likely they were to turn to mobile devices to help calm their kids down," said the study's lead author, Dr. Jenny Radesky of the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, via a press release.
Be warned
While using gadgets as a tension-breaking medium between you and your kid may do some good, pediatrician Jane Scott warns that parents should be alarmed once their children start asking Siri - or any other virtual assistant - some questions.
"But when a child so young turned to a machine for information instead of to his father, it made me wonder," Scott said in the article, published in the Sydney Morning Herald. "Just how limited was his parents' screen time?"
Toddler asking Siri if he wants breakfast. That's cute, right? Not a bit worrying? — Lizzie Catt (@Lizzie_Catt) March 27, 2016
"What I saw was modeled behavior - a child who has learned that when he has a question, Siri, and not Dad, is the most readily available with an answer," Jane Scott continued. Ensure that your children get enough attention from you, as their reliability on technology might be a result of bad parenting habits.
Toddler talk beats Siri
It seems as though parents aren't the only ones having trouble dealing with toddlers and children. In fact, even Apple's Siri can't understand most of toddler talk. Check out this adorable video of a toddler talking to Siri:
