Caution Urged Over Social Media Use in Young Children

Parents are being warned they could be damaging toddlers’ mental health by allowing them to access social media from the age of two.

A new report from charity Barnado’s has raised concerns about potential exposure to inappropriate content and also how use of social media may affect the communication skills of young children. Although the research was conducted in the UK, it has universal application.

More than 60 per cent of professionals working with vulnerable children in the past six months said they were worried about under-five use of social media and other websites. The charity’s frontline staff expressed alarm that parents were handing iPads and phones over to toddlers to “keep them quiet,” something most parents would no doubt admit to. But this has led to fears about their safety.

Half of service practitioners responding said they had worked with children aged five to 10 who had been exposed to unsuitable or harmful materials online, and more than one third said children in that age group had been victims of cyberbullying.

The story about this report contains more detailed information, as well as links to further research on the effects of too much screen time (which includes TV and computers as well as mobile devices) on young children. Read it at this link.

Source: Yahoo News