While electronic devices may seem to be everywhere, children’s bedrooms may not be the best place for them to be. A cross-sectional study of over 500 kindergartners in Hong Kong found the presence of electronic devices in their bedrooms was associated with worse social competence, emotional maturity, language, and cognitive skills, communication skills, and overall school readiness compared to those who did not have electronic devices in their rooms.
This may be one of the reasons that top technology gurus don’t allow their children free use of electronic devices if they allow them at all. Restricting the use of electronic devices might be difficult, but could be very beneficial for children, both socially and in school readiness.
It could be just the help children need to get a good scholastic start in life. So when it comes to electronic devices, parents should think carefully when allowing children to have them in their bedrooms!
Text: Fred Hardinge
Adapted from www.positivechoices.com