Clinical psychologist Artur Garaganov in an interview with Sputnik radio said that it is possible to give smartphones and tablets to a child from an early age, but subject to a number of restrictions.
According to him, young children need to spend time with technology for a limited amount of time and under the supervision of their parents. Also, the device must have programs that are appropriate for the age of the kids.
“The tablet can also be given to two-year-old children if they use an educational or developmental interface. If this interface helps them to form communication skills or fine motor skills, then it should be organically interwoven into their educational or everyday gaming activities, ”said the psychologist.
At the same time, Garaganov emphasized that it is impossible to exclude tablets from a child’s life, since he will be “cut off from modern reality” and will not know how he works.
Also, games on tablets and mobile devices can help schoolchildren psychologically.
“Schoolchildren are thrilled that they can achieve victories, albeit under a virtual avatar. For them, it feels like it is a real social achievement. On the one hand, it distracts from social contacts and dulls the emotional intelligence, on the other hand, it makes a person interested in highly specialized activities, ”he said.
According to Garaganov, the virtual space can help a child with the choice of a profession in the future. However, the specialist noted that all this is only one of the possible elements of learning, therefore, it is a wrong strategy for parents to rely on the fact that the development of a baby can only be built on gadgets.
In January, a clinical psychologist explained why children should not play cartoons for long periods. According to the specialist, first of all, prolonged viewing of cartoons affects the psyche of the child, since children from 2.5 years old become active spectators.