Essential for an adult but not necessary for pre-schoolers

When a mobile phone becomes a toy or a pacifier to an infant, I guess it is an undesirable start for that infant! And yet it is commonly used to occupy an infant ! Having been given the phone the infant gets used to cry till he or she is given the mobile phone. A pattern which would have an inhibiting influence on the child to engage in toys for social or interactive play! The communication intent and language acquisition process might get stalled by this habit! 

During a conversation with a family I discovered that the parents use the mobile phone to occupy the child as it frees them to attend to their domestic chores. Thus the interactive and social time with the infant get reduced. For some infants and toddlers, the loss of social interaction with parents is a disadvantage leading to delay in developing social and communication skills. 

As we moved into using smart phones as against a mobile phone of the first or second generations, the phone is a mini computer where gaming,  viewing cartoons or surfing are easily possible. I saw a mother turning to her three year old son to down load a programme to watch, which showed how versatile that child was in the use of a smart phone. I do not come across the parents using the 'child lock' facility to protect the toddlers and pre-schoolers drifting into viewing what is not healthy for them. 

The discipline of using the mobile phone includes designing a protocol of practice that infants,  toddlers and pre-schoolers ought to follow! 

I feel disturbed when the smart phone is a more common toy than other toys for an infant or toddler! It is an indication of a poorly structured parenting practice !

I have in my conversations with parents suggested that they have a charting of the time they and their children spend watching any programme on the phone or TV. Some families who did that for about six weeks were conscious to monitor their habit to make it reasonable and create social interactive times with their toddlers and pre-school children! 

I want to suggest that while mobile phone is an essential part of an adults life, it is not a necessary part of children till they are six yers of age or above that!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)