Children younger than 30 months “cannot learn from television and videos as they do from real-life interactions.” And to use a mobile device before that age on tasks that aren’t educational can be “detrimental to the social-emotional development of the child.” Of particular concern, according to the recommendations, was how such technology could “interfere” with a child’s growing sense of empathy or problem-solving skills. Kids acquire that capacity by playing and interacting with peers and exploring their immediate surroundings. “If these devices become the predominant method to calm and distract young children, will they be able to develop their own internal mechanisms of self-regulation?”
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