Chris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist, wants governors, schools, and parents to ban the use of handheld electronic devices for children under the age of 12.
Rowan lists ten reasons why he believes that these devices impair children’s healthy development.
Among the negative effects, he says, are attention deficit disorder, obesity, increased impulsivity, delayed cognitive development, sleep deprivation, mental illness, aggression, decreased concentration, and exposure to radiationeission.
What do you think?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I like the idea… another reason for no more massive testing on iPads, etc!
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An outright ban? Great good luck with that. As a society, we do have more pressing dangers on which to concentrate our efforts, such as poverty, crime, and drug addiction.
Educate, educate, educate. It has worked for cigarette smoking and other unhealthy habits.
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Thank you for sharing this Diane, I will forward this information to our board chair. Sadly he seems to think the board should start purchasing electronic devices for our young children and they should sit for the 4-5 hours of PARRC testing. Not to mention he voted for a contract to have teacher evaluations done by an outside company!
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I think it’s a good idea in theory, but very difficult to do in practice.
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A ban would mean that children who use these devices to communicate would be without a voice.
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I’m sure there are exceptions for kids in those situations, but the VAST majority of children should NOT be stuck in front of devices all the time, in or out of schools.
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How exactly does she propose a ban? This seems completely unworkable.
Also, and honestly I’m both surprised and unsurprised to see this coming from an OT, use of tech in special ed is very different from the overenthusiastic, clueless “tech for all” approach in mainstream classes (I have one kid in each so speak from some experience). In SpEd they are using iPads creatively and usefully (not to mention using them as AAC devices).
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I would strongly suggest people read the rebuttal arguments linked in the linked article. Here is one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kleeman/10-reasons-why-we-need-re_b_4940987.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000042
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And here is the other: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-nielsen/10-reasons-why-the-resear_b_5004413.html?1395687657
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And another: http://hipmombrarian.com/2014/03/11/10-reasons-why-i-will-continue-to-give-my-children-handheld-devices/
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Frankly, I think parents’ use of handheld devices may be worse for children than children’s use of them. And as it happens, the former leads directly to the latter. This isn’t like the phenomenon of kids spending hours glued to a gaming console that their parents never used and didn’t understand. Parents are the household leaders in this new technology. They stare into and poke at these devices constantly, detach from their children and each other, and spend most of their home time in a state of imminent irritability. “What do you want?? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”
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This. Children, as they say, learn what they live. In fact, I was very much annoyed just yesterday when I was in a shopping cart jam caused by a mother texting while sort of pushing her cart along. She was also oblivious to her two young kids running in circles around her and cutting in front of other carts.
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Technology is what you make of it, but it’s not going away.
Most adults look at technology in terms of what they have always done as adult and children; few allow themselves to to see the power to do new things.
iPads used to do traditional stuff, like testing, is obscene. Used to explore, create, Dow new things, and doors are opened.
When I read the title, I thought back to bans of rock and roll.
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I thought of an earlier era when kids watching TV was the biggie.
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it is a double edged sword. In some cases, depending on age, it is a good idea. In others, not so good. there are always two sides.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
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I think that this is some “kids these days”-driven clickbait that occasionally Huffington Post likes to put up. I’m not saying kids should be glued to mobile devices, but I’m definitely saying that these things are way more interesting and worth studying than some self-righteous post full of unsolicited parenting advice is willing to lazily lob policy solutions at.
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I am a retired teacher and former registered nurse. I also have two grandsons 2 and 4 who know their way around an iPad as well as I do. Both learned to,do puzzles on their iPads. The pick what they like to watch…the 4 year old is into dinosaurs and watches everything he can with Dino’s. I don’t have research but I do believe this is their world and they just have some really cool,options for exploring it.
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I think Ms Rowan should perhaps read Dr Robert Lustigs ‘Fat Chance’ to see validated research in to the causes of childhood obesity, associated sleeping, anxiety and eating disorders, poor concnetration etc.
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What does it matter if they “gain” all of those “benefit s. They will have acquired the “knowledge” with which corporate America seeks to indoctrinate them.
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“Among the negative effects, he says, are attention deficit disorder, obesity, increased impulsivity, delayed cognitive development, sleep deprivation, mental illness, aggression, decreased concentration, and exposure to radiationeission.”
Well….screens cause all of those negative effects on adults too. Maybe we should ban them for everyone. Good luck with that!
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There are more dangers to children with all the tech upgrades in school with wifi, emf, and RF levels because children absorb more that adults
.
http://www.electricsense.com/category/emfs-in-your-life/emfs-in-schools/
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“Holding Handhelds”
Hand held devices
Are really not vices
But negligent parents are
When this app entices
And that app delightses
The parents should set the bar
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I will be sharing this with my device happy principal.
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Again, I will repeat Dienne’s suggestion to read the rebuttals. While I believe computer technology is not always being used wisely, this article probably does not deserve the attention it is getting. In this case, the anecdotal information carries more weight with me than a misuse of “scientific” studies.
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Attentive parents, thoughtful moderation, apply variety of developmental activities, countering destructive obsessions.
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